Ohio St. Rolls Over N.C.-Wilmington, 80-54 – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/2/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 2, 2001
Box Score| Quotes| Notes
By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Boban Savovic scored 19 points and started a 13-0 first-half run with a steal as Ohio State beat N.C.-Wilmington 80-54 on Sunday.
Wilmington (2-3) led by eight points midway through the first half but had only two field goals over the next 18 minutes after Ohio State shifted to a zone defense.
Savovic hit 6-of-9 shots from the field, 5-of-6 free throws and also had six steals, five assists and five rebounds.
Zach Williams added 17 points. Twelve players scored for the Buckeyes (4-0), who hit 51 percent of their shots from the field and held a 35-21 advantage in rebounding.
Brett Blizzard, who scored 27 points in the Seahawks’ last game, was dogged by defenders all night and finished with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting. He needed just three points to total 1,000 for his career and scored his third and fourth points on a basket at the midpoint of the first half.
Stewart Hare scored 11 points and Aaron Coombs – a surprise starter in place of Tim Burnette – had 10.
The game swiveled during a 5:16 span in the first half.
The Seahawks stunned the Buckeyes with a 12-2 run, scoring six points on rebound follows, to build a 20-12 advantage on Tim Burnette’s perimeter jumper at the 9:09 mark.
After a timeout at the 7:54 mark, the Buckeyes came out in a zone and it almost immediately paid dividends. Savovic stole the ball in the backcourt and Brian Brown scored on a fastbreak layup to touch off a 13-0 run.
Wilmington missed all five of its shots from the field – never getting more than one shot on each trip to the offensive end – and had three turnovers during its scoring drought.
Meanwhile, four Buckeyes were scoring led by Terence Dials’ two baskets and two free throws. He dunked off a backdoor cut, Williams assisting, and also hit a layup off an assist from Brown. Williams had a three-point play and Brent Darby scored on a 15-foot jumper.
Ohio State, which led 31-24 at the half, scored on six of seven possessions after Brown’s layup at the 7:29 mark.
The Seahawks only had one field goal over the first 8{ minutes of the second half as the Buckeyes scored 16 of the first 18 points after the break.
