Penn Carries Ohio State into South Regional Final – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/19/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 19, 1999
By TOM SHARP
AP Sports Writer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Guard play usually determines who’s still playing in the NCAA tournament at this time of the year. Exhibit A: Ohio State and Scoonie Penn.
Penn was sidelined with four fouls midway through the second half of Thursday’s South Regional semifinal against top-seeded Auburn. While he sat, the Tigers went on an 11-2 run to forge ahead.
The Buckeyes’ improbable and wonderful season, the remarkable turnaround from 8-22 a year ago, was dying.
Then Penn, all 5-foot-10 of him, went back in. He hoisted the Buckeyes on his shoulders and carried them to within one victory of the Final Four with a 72-64 victory over the Tigers.
The fourth-seeded Buckeyes will play No. 3 seed St. John’s on Saturday for a trip to St. Petersburg, Fla. The Red Storm built a 22-point lead and hung on to beat second-seeded Maryland 76-62 in Thursday’s first game.
Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien hoped to wait longer before putting Penn back in, but in the three minutes he was sitting down, Auburn started to take control.
“We felt it slipping away, and you don’t want to lose the game with your best player on the bench,” O’Brien said. “He impacted the game as soon as he stepped back on the floor.”
Auburn led 52-46 when Penn went back into the game with 10:14 to go. He hit a 3-pointer 21 seconds later and a driving bucket with 8:41 left to pull Ohio State to within a point. He put the Buckeyes ahead by a point with a basket at 4:59, and again with two free throws at 3:47.
He zipped a perfect feed to Michael Redd on a back-door cut with 3:19 to go that made it 61-59. His baseline jumper with 1:13 to go made it 66-61.
The Tigers were about cooked. A blocked shot and steal by Brian Brown, followed by a behind-the-back feed for Jason Singleton’s dunk, made it 68-61. The Tigers were done.
“We needed a 3 and time was going down,” said Auburn’s Bryant Smith, whose shot Brown blocked. “The guy made a great play. These things happen in NCAA basketball.”
Penn made a believer of Auburn coach Cliff Ellis.
“They won eight games without him last year. He’s just a player, a money player,” said Ellis, whose team finished 29-4, a school record for victories in a season.
“He’s their heart and soul. He’s not a guard, he’s a great guard.”
Penn finished with 26 points, four assists and no turnovers. He never did foul out.
Michael Redd added 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Buckeyes (26-8) advanced to a regional final for the first time since 1992, when they lost to Michigan.
O’Brien said before the game he was most worried about Auburn’s rebounding, especially on the offensive end. The Buckeyes fought the Tigers to a draw on the offensive glass, each with 14, and had nine second-chance points to three for Auburn.
“I think the game was won right there,” Penn said. “Mike and I scored a lot of points, but without those guys battling under the boards, we wouldn’t be sitting here now.”
Auburn’s Chris Porter, the Southeastern Conference player of the year, fouled out with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Doc Robinson added 14 points, and Mamadou N’Diaye also had 11 rebounds.
“This,” said Penn, who sat out last year’s 8-22 season as a transfer, “is a dream come true.”
Auburn became the first No. 1 seed to drop out of this year’s tournament.
