Ohio State Stops Coppin State, 80-42 – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/30/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2000
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By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ken Johnson blocked Coppin State’s first two shots and then opened the second half by scoring the first eight points as Ohio State beat Coppin State 80-42 on Saturday.
Johnson, who led the nation in blocked shots a year ago, had as many blocks (7) as the Eagles had field goals until 8:42 remained. That was almost six minutes after Johnson left the game for good with the Buckeyes on top 48-15.
The 6-foot-11 senior finished with 12 points and seven rebounds to go with his seven blocks – in just 16 minutes.
Ohio State (9-3), which has won seven of its last eight, righted itself after losing to then-No. 9 Kansas 69-68 a week ago.
Brian Brown had a 10 points and a career-high eight assists and Sean Connolly also had 10 points for the Buckeyes, who hit half of their 58 shots from the field.
The loss was the fourth in a row for Coppin State (4-6), which is in the midst of eight straight road games.
Enrique Nieves and Joe Brown – who made 3-of-16 shots from the field – each scored nine points for the Eagles, who shot 31 percent from the field.
Ohio State used a 26-0 run in the heart of the game to pull away. Coppin State went scoreless for 11:38, missing all 10 of its shots from the field – two of them blocked by Johnson – with seven turnovers.
The disparity in the middle wasn’t too surprising. Coppin State was without second-leading rebounding Michael Poster, suspended for a violation of team rules, and the entire roster had combined for only five blocked shots this season.
Johnson blocked shots by Larry Tucker and Terek Wright on the Eagles’ first two attempts from the field.
By halftime, Ohio State rode a 15-0 run to lead 34-13 and the shooting statistics were even more lopsided.
With Johnson blocking six shots, Coppin State managed to hit just 5-of-26 shots for 19 percent – even though the Eagles had 12 offensive rebounds.
Coppin State players drove the lane three other times only to confront Johnson, then reversed themselves and pulled the ball back outside. On three other occasions, players attacked the basket but were called for turnovers when they fumbled the ball as Johnson’s shadow loomed over them.
Meanwhile, Ohio State was hitting 54 percent of its shots (14 of 26), many on layups and uncontested shots inside off backdoor cuts.
Johnson then scored the first eight points in an 11-0 run Ohio State run to start the second half. Three of his four baskets came on high-flying dunks, including one on a reverse slam dunk in heavy traffic.
That brought a paid crowd of 16,406 to its feet. The biggest crowd for Coppin State – which hasn’t played at home since Nov. 28 – was 487 to see the opener against Iona at the Coppin Center.
