On Tuesday night the Buckeyes faced the Morehead State Eagles in Columbus. The Eagles posed a significant challenge to the Buckeyes, but Ohio State was able to pull away in the final minutes and notch their fourth win of the season. The Buckeyes, who were without William Buford for the contest due to back spasms, saw three team members play the entire 40 minutes in a hard-fought game.
The game started in somewhat herky-jerky fashion, and Ohio State did not post their first points on the score board until a David Lighty basket got them started two and a half minutes into the game. Morehead State big man Kenneth Faried established his presence early, grabbing rebounds and wreaking havoc on both ends of the court with impressive athleticism. Both teams turned the ball over frequently in the early going, and overall the first half consisted of scrappy play rather than smooth, efficient basketball, leading to some foul trouble for both Dallas Lauderdale and Jared Sullinger.
The Ohio State freshmen talent was once again on display, with Aaron Craft starting in place of an injured William Buford. Deshaun Thomas checked into the game when Lauderdale and Sullinger started picking up fouls, and immediately got posterized by Morehead State guard Sam Goodman. However, Thomas came right back on the other end for his own two off a nice pass from David Lighty.
Lighty’s aggressiveness on both ends of the floor really drove the Buckeyes through the first half and prevented any real problems arising, and Jon Diebler picked up any scoring slack resulting from Buford’s absence. Diebler knocked down a few buckets to get the Buckeyes going, and Ohio State finally took the lead at the 10:30 mark. However, Morehead State wasn’t going away, and quickly tied it back up off a 3-pointer from Ty Proffitt. The game bounced back and forth, with Faried slamming home a highlight-reel alley-oop on a fast break, only to be countered by a floater from Aaron Craft on the other end. Diebler finished off the half with a leaning 3-pointer just as the shot clock expired, and the Buckeyes took at 30-24 lead into halftime.
The intensity picked up noticeably in the second half, and Morehead State continued to play tough and hang around. To the Eagles credit, they displayed a high degree of confidence all night long. However, Ohio State began to extend the margin bit by bit, and opened up a 9-point lead around the 15:00 mark after Faried picked up his fourth foul. Diebler continued his hot shooting, knocking down yet another three with under eight minutes remaining to begin to put the game out of reach, and a final three with only two minutes left to seal the deal for good.
Diebler ended up leading the Buckeyes with 20 points on 4-7 shooting from downtown. He, along with Aaron Craft and David Lighty, played the entire 40 minutes. It was good to see the freshman point guard go the distance and lead the team once more with solid, smart play. Deshaun Thomas added 17 points off the bench, continuing to provide valuable play off the bench. Jared Sullinger did not get into double figures scoring for the game despite a good all-around game, largely due to the presence of Morehead State’s Faried matching him down low. Jordan Sibert also made an appearance off the bench, but was unable to have a significant impact on the game. Morehead State, who rotated through 10 players in the game, was led by Faried with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 steals.
The Buckeyes will next play Miami (OH) on Friday at 4:00. The game will be in Columbus and will appear on the Big Ten Network.
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