Buckeyes Silence Florida A&M – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/11/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 11, 1999%^$
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%^$%^$Box Score|%^$Quotes|%^$Notes|%^$Interview%^$
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By RUSTY MILLER
%^$AP Sports Writer
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – No. 13 Ohio State plans on getting fat over the%^$holidays.%^$
Feasting on cream puffs such as overmatched Florida A&M – a 99-47 victim%^$Saturday night – the Buckeyes (3-1) have run off three wins in a row since a%^$disappointing loss in their opener.%^$
Ahead lie games against Coastal Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Toledo, Oakland%^$and American, with a game at No. 5 Kansas – the only ranked opponent before the%^$Buckeyes begin Big Ten play next month.%^$
Asked what his team got out of the blowout of overmatched Florida A&M, Ohio%^$State coach Jim O’Brien said, “A lot of minutes for our young guys. They’re%^$going to need to play.”%^$
A lot sure got to play against the Rattlers (1-5) and almost all of them%^$played well. Michael Redd scored 17 points and six teammates had career nights.%^$
Ken Johnson had a career-high 11 rebounds and tied his previous best with%^$seven blocked shots, while Cobe Ocokoljic (18 points), George Reese (16), Brian%^$Brown (14) and Will Dudley (12) each had career scoring nights. Scoonie Penn%^$added a career-best 12 assists.%^$
It was the most lopsided game in Value City Arena’s two years and Ohio%^$State’s easiest win since a 114-53 beating of Howard eight years ago.%^$
“We got a lot of confidence that maybe we are the same team as last year,”%^$Brown said, referring to the Buckeyes’ foray to the Final Four last March.%^$”Anytime you can beat a team by 52, that’s good. Maybe we spoiled the fans%^$last year.”%^$
The biggest cheers from a crowd of 17,741 came as the Buckeyes’ subs neared%^$the 100-point mark in the closing minute. Doylan Robinson missed a pair of free%^$throws with 14.5 seconds left that would have pushed Ohio State into triple%^$digits.%^$
The fans booed when the Rattlers dribbled out the final seconds rather than%^$give the Buckeyes another shot at getting another point.%^$
“Unfortunately, it was as if we were intimidated from the very beginning,”%^$Rattlers coach Mickey Clayton said. “That was a concern I had from the%^$beginning, looking into their faces.”%^$
None of Ohio State’s four opponents have a winning record so far and have%^$combined for a 9-15 record.%^$
O’Brien said he had hoped his team would win twice at home in the Preseason%^$NIT and would draw a couple of top teams in Madison Square Garden. Instead, the%^$Buckeyes lost to Notre Dame 59-57 in the first round on a last-second shot.%^$
“We attempted to get to New York to play Arizona and Kentucky,” he said.%^$”We had an opportunity to play some really good teams early on but we just%^$forfeited that opportunity ourselves.”%^$
Travis Grant III had 13 points and Michael Shipp 11 for Florida A&M (1-5),%^$which shot just 22 percent from the field (15 of 67) and had nine shots%^$blocked.%^$
The game was all but over by halftime, with the Buckeyes limiting the%^$Rattlers to just one field goal in the last 10 minutes while rolling to a 54-24%^$lead.%^$
Ohio State scored 29 of the final 36 points as Florida A&M misfired on all%^$but one of their last 16 shots from the field. The Buckeyes led 16-12 after the%^$first 6 1/2 minutes before going on a 9-0 run that started with Johnson’s dunk off%^$an assist from Penn. After Grant’s 3-pointer cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 25-17,%^$Ohio State went on a 12-0 run. The lead never dipped below 20 points again.%^$
“The minutes look like bad minutes but they’ll help us in the long run,”%^$Penn said.%^$
