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NCAA Tournament Recap (Detroit-Ohio St)
Posted: Sat March 13, 1999 at 10:48 p.m. EST INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Fourth-seeded Ohio State scored the game's first 12 points, held Detroit scoreless for the first 9:48 and cruised to a 75-44 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the South Region. Jason Singleton and Scoonie Penn scored five points apiece in the game-opening run, which helped Ohio State build a 16-point lead with 3:19 left in the first half and eventually a 25-12 advantage into the break. "Never did I think that we would put ourselves in the position to win the way we did tonight," Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. "I thought that we played outstanding defensively. We continued four fine defensive play in the second half and we combined that with a real efficient peformance in the second 20 minutes." Detroit did not score its first points until Rashad Phillips hit a jumper in the lane with 10:12 remaining in the period and had just six points before doubling its output in the final three minutes. But by that time, the game was already decided. Penn and backcourt mate Michael Redd scored 15 points apiece for Ohio State (25-8), which will play top-seeded Auburn in the regional semifinals Thursday in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Buckeyes last advanced to the round of 16 in 1992, falling to Michigan in overtime in the regional final. "This is a real nice win for us," O'Brien added. "I am happy to see our kids be as happy as they are. I will not soon forget the scene in the locker room after the game. This is a happy group of kids. All year I have been telling them that they deserve it." Jermaine Jackson netted 18 points for the Titans (25-6), who were making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance but have never won more than one game. Detroit played in the regional semifinals in 1977, but it took just one game to reach that point. "This was a tough loss for us," Detroit coach Perry Watson said. "We just didn't play well. I just wish that we could have played as well as I know we could because we had such a great year. If you're going to end your season with a loss, you would like to play (better)." The first points of the game were not scored until 1 1/2 were played and Singleton converted a follow shot. Penn followed with a 3-pointer from the right wing and a layup by Redd made it 7-0 with 17:22 to play in the half. Singleton hit the first of two free throws following a timeout and then took a beutiful feed from freshman Brian Brown and completed an easy layup. Brown fed Penn on a fast break moments later for another layup that gave Ohio State a 12-0 lead 7:49 into the contest. "They were definitely getting frustrated and the credit has to go to our defense," said Brown. Phillips finally scored for Detroit, and after George Reese hit one free throw for the Buckeyes, Bacari Alexander and Jackson scored, and suddenly Detroit was on a modest 6-1 run. But Sanderson hit a free throw and Penn scored five straight points on two foul shots and a 3-pointer from the right wing. Johnson hit two free throws with 3:19 left in the half to give Ohio State a 21-6 lead. The Titans finished the first half with five field goals and six turnovers, but were within 11 points just over three minutes into the second half when Desmond Ferguson drained a 3-pointer to make it 29-18. But Ohio State put the game away with 11 straight points. "We got good looks and good shots, it's just shots that we didn't knock down," said Jackson. "It was tough to just score 12 or 13 points. Our whole plan was to play hard defense and that's what we really wanted to do, but they kept knocking down shots." Penn fed Redd for a layup to begin the run and then drilled a 3-pointer to make it 34-18. Brown drained consecutive 3-pointers and Ohio State quickly had a 22-point lead and was in complete control. The Titans came no closer than 17 points the rest of the way. "This has been a gradual process with the development of our team," said O'Brien. "I thought we played very well tonight. I think we were terrific defensively." The Titans shot 20 percent (5-of-25) in the first half and finished at 31 percent (16-of-52). They connected on 6-of-25 from beyond the arc and made just half of their 12 free throw attempts. "I won't necessarily take credit away from Ohio State, they played a great game," Alexander said. "There just were some situations where we could have had better shot selection of defensive reads. It didn't quite click together." Reese grabbed seven of his 15 rebounds on the offensive end. Despite his 5-10 stature, Penn had 12 rebounds for Ohio State, which held a 51-25 advantage on the boards and shot 44 percent (27-of-61). "I think that 12 rebounds is the most I have ever had in my life at any level," Penn said. "We finally came up on a team that is not bigger than us. All season in the Big Ten, teams have been bigger than us." The teams combined for just 15 turnovers.© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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