Ohio State Outguns North Carolina State, 64-50 – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov 27, 2001%^$
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By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer%^$
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Brent Darby scored 22 points and Brian Brown 18 as%^$Ohio State used a late 12-2 run to beat North Carolina State 64-50 on Tuesday%^$in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.%^$
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The Buckeyes (3-0) led 43-40 with 10:32 remaining after two foul shots by%^$the Wolfpack’s Julius Hodge.%^$
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Over the next 8:40, however, the Wolfpack (5-1) hit just 1-of-15 shots from%^$the field with five turnovers.%^$
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North Carolina State ended up hitting just 27.3 percent (15 of 55) of its%^$shots from the field. The Wolfpack came in shooting 49.8 percent from the field%^$while winning by an average margin of 23.4 points a game.%^$
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Ohio State was making its first appearance in the third year of matchups%^$between two of the big-name conferences. The Buckeyes had declined to be a part%^$of the series because coach Jim O’Brien feared being left out with an 8-22%^$record his first season in Columbus.%^$
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Will Dudley added 12 points. Zach Williams and Boban Savovic each had eight%^$rebounds for Ohio State.%^$
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Anthony Grundy and Hodge each scored 13 points for North Carolina State.%^$
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After three ties and two lead changes, Ohio State led 26-24 at the half.%^$
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The Buckeyes went on a 9-2 run to take a 37-30 lead. Brown, playing in his%^$100th game, started it with a three-point play, the ball bouncing four times%^$softly on the rim before finally dropping in for the field goal. Darby then%^$scored on a fastbreak layup. After Marcus Melvin hit a rebound follow for the%^$Wolfpack, Darby scored inside in traffic and Dudley dunked off a Darby assist.%^$
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Ohio State led 43-40 after Hodge hit a pair of foul shots with 10:32 left,%^$but the Buckeyes slowly pulled away again.%^$
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Dudley dunked again, this time off a backdoor assist from Savovic, and then%^$Dudley hit two free throws to push the lead to 47-40.%^$
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Grundy countered with a shot inside for the Wolfpack. After an Ohio State%^$turnover, the Wolfpack had four shots on one trip down floor but the sequence%^$ended with Brown hitting a finger-roll at the other end.%^$
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While North Carolina State remained stuck in an offensive rut – frequently%^$missing layups or follows within a few feet of the basket – the Buckeyes made%^$it 51-42 with 4:40 remaining on Dudley’s power move inside.%^$
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Darby and Brown then scored on layups to make it 55-42 with 2:12 remaining.%^$The Wolfpack ended a 5-minute drought on Josh Powell’s foul shot with 1:52%^$remaining.%^$
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North Carolina State was making its first road trip of the season after%^$opening with five wins at home. The Wolfpack was 2-7 on the road a year ago.%^$
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Averaging 19 assists a game coming in, the Wolfpack totaled just eight%^$assists.%^$
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Ohio State hit 69 percent of its shots from the field in the second half (11%^$of 16) to finish at 48.7 percent.
