No. 6 Men’s Hoops Ends Illini Win Streak, 64-51 – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2000
%^$
%^$
%^$
%^$%^$Box Score|%^$Quotes|%^$Notes |%^$Interview%^$%^$
%^$
%^$
%^$
By RUSTY MILLER
%^$AP Sports Writer%^$
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Twenty minutes of hard work made the final seven days%^$of the regular season that much more meaningful for No. 6 Ohio State.%^$
Rebounding from a nondescript first half, the Buckeyes used a stifling%^$defense, Michael Redd’s 21 points and a 20-3 second-half surge to get by%^$Illinois 64-51 on Sunday.%^$
The victory kept the Buckeyes (20-5, 11-3) in a virtual tie with Michigan%^$State and Purdue for the top spot in the Big Ten heading into their final two%^$regular-season games.%^$
“The thing I like is that it’s in our hands now,” Ohio State coach Jim%^$O’Brien said. “If we’re good enough to do it on the road, we deserve it. And%^$if we don’t, we have nobody to blame but ourselves. We’ve just got to win two%^$more games.”%^$
The Buckeyes play at Penn State on Wednesday and at Minnesota on Saturday.%^$
“Our destiny is in our own hands now,” said point guard Scoonie Penn, who%^$scored 14 points.%^$
A capacity crowd of 19,100 said goodbye to three senior starters – Penn,%^$George Reese and Ken Johnson – who played their final game at Value City Arena.%^$
In addition, Redd’s father this week said that his son might forego his%^$final year of eligibility to make himself eligible for the NBA draft.%^$
The fans chanted, “One more year!” as Redd shot free throws in the final%^$minutes.%^$
If it was Redd’s final home game, he made the most of it. He also had 12%^$rebounds as the Buckeyes dominated the boards in the second half. He also moved%^$into fifth place – passing Jimmy Jackson – on Ohio State’s career scoring list%^$with 1,787 points.%^$
Brian Brown had 12 points and Reese finished with 11. Johnson blocked six%^$shots and had six rebounds.%^$
“Our defense is very good right now,” said Brown, who put the clamps on%^$Illinois standout Cory Bradford, holding him to 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting%^$from the field. “If our offense can play well, we’re tough to beat. The second%^$half we played so good on defense.”%^$
Illinois (18-8, 10-5) had won seven in a row and nine of its last 10.%^$
Brian Cook led the Illini with 17 points. Frank Williams, who beat the%^$Buckeyes on a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the Big Ten opener, mustered 11 points%^$on 3-of-15 shooting.%^$
The Illini, shooting 44 percent for the season, hit just 18-of-59 shots from%^$the field for 31 percent.%^$
“They played a great defensive game and they attacked us offensively and%^$were much more aggressive in the second half,” Illinois coach Lon Kruger said.%^$”Ohio State’s defense was outstanding and they got all the loose balls with%^$their hustle.”%^$
The Buckeyes won the rebounding battle 40-30, outrebounding the Illini 15-4%^$during their second-half spurt.%^$
A Cook basket staked Illinois, which had led by as many as eight points in%^$the first half, to a 38-34 lead with 16:20 remaining.%^$
But the Illini would miss 19 of their final 23 shots from the field and%^$would score only three points and hit one field goal over the next nine%^$minutes.%^$
“Our guys deserve credit for how they guarded a very good team,” O’Brien%^$said. “I think the second half was our best effort this season – to keep%^$Illinois to 21 points and 24 percent shooting in the second half is great.”%^$
Rebound follows by Reese and Brown pulled the Buckeyes even before Penn gave%^$them the lead for good on two foul shots with 13:11 left. Penn later stole the%^$ball and hit the perimeter jumper at the other end to cap a 12-0 run for a%^$46-38 lead at the 10:18 mark.%^$
After Lucas Johnson hit a 3-pointer to break the Illini’s six-minute scoring%^$drought, the Buckeyes ran off the next eight points to build the lead to 54-41%^$with 7:18 remaining.%^$
The lead never dropped below 11 points again.%^$
“This keeps us in the hunt in the Big Ten,” Johnson said. “The race for%^$No. 1 is very close. Now we have to win our games down the stretch to stay in%^$it.”
