Saturday, March 06, 1999
OHIO STATE 87, MICHIGAN 69
OSU not just 2-man show
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CHICAGO — Scoonie Penn, the silky point guard, and Michael Redd, the flashy scorer, are the big names in the story of Ohio State's remarkable turnaround. But the supporting cast is no group of understudies.
It was a quartet of lesser-known Buckeyes — guards Boban Savovic and Brian Brown and forwards Jon Sanderson and George Reese — that proved most impressive Friday night, as No. 2 seed Ohio State overcame a sluggish start to beat No. 10 seed Michigan 87-69 in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.
“When I came (to Ohio State), I knew who was going to get all the attention,” said Reese, a junior college transfer who had eight points, six rebounds and a crowd-pleasing dunk. “My motto this year was Catch People Sleeping. I'm going to sneak in behind them.”
Michigan, which beat OSU earlier this season, can consider itself snuck up on.
“We're definitely not a two-man team,” Redd said. “The bench gave of us some energy and hit their shots. When that happens, we're going to get some wins.”
The Buckeyes (23-7) play the winner of Friday's late game between Illinois and Indiana in a semifinal at the United Center today (approximately 4:30 p.m., CBS).
Redd played his usual role, scoring when the Buckeyes needed it in decisive runs to close the first half and open the second. The 6-foot-6 sophomore from Columbus hit five straight points just after halftime as Ohio State took over, and he finished with 19 points.
But it was Savovic, Brown, Sanderson and Reese who stood out when the Buckeyes could have faltered.
Savovic, a 6-6 freshman from Yugoslavia, contributed eight points and a key steal that led to a Penn layup on a fast break, part of an 18-4 first-half run that took OSU from a 9-point deficit to the lead.
Reese (eight points) and Sanderson (11, including six straight points early in the second half) contributed several key rebounds and low-post baskets, sticking back perimeter misses and keeping Michigan's taller front line off the glass.
Brown slinked through the Michigan defense for 10 points — important, because Penn wasn't himself — and Ken Johnson added eight points, two slams and a block.
“We're hard-working guys, and we're a part of this team too. A lot of guys were real big tonight,” said Sanderson. “We knew with Scoonie hurt all week, we knew some of us were going to have to step it up and work extra hard, and a few of us did.”
Michigan (12-19) controlled much of the first half until Ohio State spurted heading into intermission. But the Buckeyes didn't grab the lead until Johnson's turnaround jumper needed a shooter's roll to fall with 2:14 left for a 31-29 lead.
OSU extended the lead to double-digits early in the second half and dominated the rest of the way.
“They're aren't ranked that high (No. 12) for nothing,” said Michigan senior guard Louis Bullock, who scored 19 in his college finale.
Both coaches believed fatigue became a factor for the Wolverines, who played Thursday while OSU was off.
“I think in the first half, the team that has played the day before has an advantage,” O'Brien said. “I think the momentum then swings back to the rested team in the second half.”
Penn (14 points), coming off a bruised hip from last week's regular season finale, struggled to get going, finally scoring on a free throw with more than 11 minutes elapsed.
“I felt a little rusty after not practicing all week,” Penn said. “It just took me a while to get loose.”
MICHIGAN (69)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Smith 31 3-7 4-5 1-4 4 2 10
Asselin 33 2-6 5-7 1-7 1 3 9
Vignier 22 1-5 6-6 4-8 0 4 8
Bullock 31 4-13 9-10 1-3 1 4 19
Reid 37 4-12 2-2 0-1 1 2 13
Jones 15 0-2 1-2 0-0 3 2 1
Taylor 2 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 2
Scott 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Hunter 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Gibson 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Oliver 3 0-1 2-2 1-1 1 1 2
Young 20 1-1 0-0 1-3 0 4 2
Szyndlar 2 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 0 3
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 17-50 30-35 9-28 11 22 69
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.340, FT-.857. 3-Point Goals:
5-17, .294 (Smith 0-1, Bullock 2-6, Reid 3-8,
Jones 0-2). Team rebounds: 6. Blocked shots: 7
(Smith 4, Asselin, Bullock, Young). Turnovers: 20
(Reid 7, Bullock 5, Asselin 2, Young 2, Jones,
Smith, Szyndlar, Vignier). Steals: 3 (Oliver,
Reid, Szyndlar).
OHIO ST (87)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Singleton 15 1-2 2-4 1-1 2 5 4
Sanderson 22 4-10 2-2 4-7 0 2 11
Johnson 20 4-6 0-0 2-3 0 4 8
Redd 32 8-18 2-3 3-6 3 4 19
Penn 31 3-8 6-8 0-3 4 2 14
Coleman 11 1-5 2-2 0-0 1 1 5
Brown 20 4-5 2-3 2-3 4 3 10
Savovic 15 2-2 4-6 2-5 3 3 8
Smith 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Steele 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Reese 28 3-8 2-5 1-6 2 1 8
Herron 2 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 30-65 22-33 15-35 19 26 87
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.462, FT-.667. 3-Point Goals:
5-15, .333 (Sanderson 1-3, Redd 1-4, Penn 2-4,
Coleman 1-4). Team rebounds: 9. Blocked shots: 5
(Johnson 3, Sanderson, Reese). Turnovers: 13
(Brown 3, Penn 2, Redd 2, Smith 2, Sanderson,
Savovic, Singleton, Steele). Steals: 11 (Savovic
4, Redd 3, Brown, Penn, Reese, Smith).
__________________________________
Michigan 31 38 - 69
Ohio St 34 53 - 87
__________________________________
Technical fouls: Michigan 2 (Bench, Asselin).
Officials: Ted Hillary, Mike Sanzere, Nick Petro.
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