Men’s Basketball Down Lugano to Remain Undefeated – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 28, 2001
%^$LUGANO, Switzerland-Ohio State improved to 2-0 on the team’s trip to Europe with a hard-fought 113-86 win over the Lugano Basketball Club Monday. Senior Brian Brown led the squad with 25 points to lead a group of seven Buckeyes in double figures.%^$
%^$The teams were called for a combined 52 fouls resulting in 69 foul shots. The Buckeyes knocked down 20-of-32 attempts while Lugano connected on 23-of-37.%^$
%^$Jim O’Brien, Ohio State head coach, said the frontcourt players learned some valuable lessons against the experienced Lugano inside players. But in the end, it was the second-consecutive game of solid guard play that solidified the win for the Buckeyes.%^$
%^$”Our big guys are getting some valuable experience over here,” O’Brien said. “It was a physical game with loads of contact under the basket. Our big guys are young and they were battling men tonight but they held their own.%^$
%^$”Again, it was our guards who carried us,” O’Brien said. “That was evident by the number of guys we had in double figures.”%^$
%^$Behind Brown, senior Boban Savovic scored 14 points followed by 13 each by junior Brent Darby, sophomore Zach Williams and senior Tim Martin. Junior Sean Connolly added 12 followed by 11 from Radinovic.%^$
%^$Darby led the way with seven assists followed by Brown with six. Radinovic, who along with Connolly, had a team-high four rebounds, said the international trapezoid-shaped lane was not for the faint of heart.%^$
%^$”This was an extremely physical game,” Radinovic said. “It was hard to hold our own underneath. It was frustrating but we didn’t let their big guys get in our heads.”%^$
%^$Brown said the Buckeye big men would benefit from the European style of play.%^$
%^$”It was tough inside for our big guys,” Brown said. “It was really rough once you got inside the lane. It will be good down the road for our big guys to have played in games like this. For me, it has been tough getting used to the rules. They get away with so much traveling over here with the extra step.%^$
%^$”When our guys make back cuts toward the basket, the refs allow them to hold us,” he said. “They also get away with lane violations all the time on free throws. It is frustrating but we have been able to overcome the obstacles so far.”%^$
%^$The Buckeyes shot 45-of-77 (.584) from the field and 3-of-15 (.200) from 3-point range. Lugano connected on 34-of-68 (.500) shots from the field and 5-of-13 (.385) from long range.%^$
%^$Ohio State will spend most of Tuesday traveling by bus to Grindewald, Switzerland, with an afternoon stop in Luzern for shopping and lunch. The Buckeyes will face the Fribourg Olympic Basketball Club Wednesday in Grindewald before heading to Paris Thursday for three days.%^$
%^$The trip concludes with two days in Amsterdam Sept. 2-3. The Buckeyes return to Columbus Sept. 4.%^$
%^$Buckeyes Take Advantage of Free Time in Lugano
%^$”This has been the best place we have traveled to so far,” Brown said of Ohio State’s stay in Lugano, Switzerland. “We have had tons of fun so far. On Sunday we spent the day swimming in Lake Lugano. We rented boats, went out to the middle of the lake and went swimming. We found a tree hanging over the lake with a rope attached. We spent some time swinging from the rope into the water. That was a great time.%^$
%^$”Switzerland is nice,” he said. “The people have been friendly and the food is really good. The team has been getting along really well considering we have spent so much time right on top of each other during the long bus trips. I am surprised we have not gotten into any arguments. Everyone has spent time together walking around, playing cards and seeing the cities.”
