No. 5 Men’s Hoops Takes Down Penn State, 88-75 – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2000
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By RUSTY MILLER
%^$AP Sports Writer%^$
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Doylan Robinson was an unlikely hero for Ohio State.%^$
After playing only 21 minutes in the previous 12 games, Robinson came off%^$the end of the bench to play solid defense and score a career-high 10 points as%^$No. 5 Ohio State beat Penn State 88-75 Saturday.%^$
“I didn’t know I would get this much playing time,” Robinson said.%^$
Four Buckeyes scored more points, but it was Robinson’s play that received%^$the most praise after the game.%^$
“He played huge for a guy who doesn’t play a lot,” said Michael Redd, who%^$led the Buckeyes with 25 points.%^$
Redd is accustomed to torturing Penn State, having averaged 26.8 points in%^$his four previous games against the Nittany Lions. He had not shot better than%^$50 percent in nine of his previous 10 games, but made 9-of-17 shots and 7-of-10%^$free throws to match his season scoring high.%^$
Yet Robinson, who led the Buckeyes with eight rebounds, still commanded a%^$lot of attention.%^$
“Doylan was the man,” said Scoonie Penn, who had 17 points and seven%^$rebounds for Ohio State (17-4, 8-2 Big Ten). “He got the big congratulations%^$and the high-fives today. He was definitely the difference.”%^$
His play couldn’t have come at a better time for the Buckeyes who assured%^$themselves of having at least a share of first place in the conference going%^$into their showdown at No. 6 Michigan State Wednesday.%^$
Joe Crispin, who matched teammate Jarrett Stephens with 25 points, had 13 at%^$halftime as the Nittany Lions (12-9, 4-6) held a 35-33 lead after leading by as%^$many as seven points before Robinson started guarding Crispin.%^$
“They did a good job of taking the 3 away from me,” Crispin said. “He did%^$a good job on me and the others did a good job of rotating over to help him.”%^$
Crispin wasn’t a factor in the second half with the taller Robinson applying%^$the pressure on defense.%^$
He gave us a spark,” Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien said. “It seemed he was%^$bothering him a little.”%^$
Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said, “The first half we were consistent on%^$offense and then in the second half, after we went through our first and second%^$options, a lot of our shots didn’t fall.”%^$
Meanwhile, Ohio State’s offense perked up after an abysmal performance in%^$Wednesday night’s 67-64 upset loss at home to Iowa.%^$
The Buckeyes shot 61 percent in the second half – hitting 10 of their final%^$11 shots – and finished at 56 percent, their best shooting performance in%^$almost two months. They pulled away to lead by as many as 16.%^$
Another substitute, sixth-man George Reese, scored 21 points on 7-of-10%^$shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the line. Ken Johnson added 11 points%^$and eight blocked shots.%^$
The Nittany Lions lost their third straight. Crispin scored 29 points when%^$Penn State upset the 10th-ranked Buckeyes 98-85 last year in the teams’ final%^$meeting.%^$
Brandon Watkins’ three-point play with 9:46 left gave Penn State a 58-54%^$lead, but Ohio State made its next seven shots from the field and 10 of 12 free%^$throws during a 24-5 run, going ahead 78-63 with 3 1/2 minutes left.%^$
A Redd layup and a Reese turnaround tied the score. After Johnson blocked a%^$shot by Stephens, Reese scored off a fastbreak assist from Penn, giving the%^$Buckeyes the lead for good.%^$
Titus Ivory and Crispin missed 3-pointers for the Nittany Lions while%^$Johnson, then Redd each made a pair of free throws to cap a 10-0 run. The%^$Buckeyes finished 24 of 29 at the line, a marked difference from Wednesday%^$night’s loss when they were 14 of 27.%^$
