Buckeyes Post Fourth Win In Europe – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/31/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 31, 2001
PARIS – Boban Savovic scored a game-high 22 points to lead five Buckeyes in double figures in a 91-75 victory over Beauvais (France) Basketball Club.
Ohio State, 4-0 while playing a seven-game schedule in Europe, led 47-44 at the half behind Brian Brown’s 13 points.
Sean Connolly caught fire in the second half, scoring all of his 12 points to help OSU build a 10-point cushion. The Buckeyes maintained the lead for the final 12 minutes of the game.
Jim O’Brien, OSU head coach, said he was disappointed with the early part of the game with Beauvais.
“We started out very lethargic,” O’Brien said. “We gave up 44 points in the first half. We challenged our guys to step it up in the second half. We didn’t want to allow more than 35 points in the second half and they only scored 31. We responded defensively.”
Brent Darby scored 16 points and Brown finished with 15. Center Will Dudley scored 10 points to go with nine rebounds. O’Brien credited the OSU reserves with the win over Beauvais.
“We hit the offensive glass more in the second half,” O’Brien said. “Connolly and Tim Martin helped make the difference.”
Martin has hit 13-of-14 shots in the four wins to date. He said the opportunity to get playing time has helped his play.
“It has been fun playing over here,” Martin said. “We have only 10 guys in uniform so we are all getting a chance to play. Mentally, I know I’ll get a lot of minutes. I’m just trying to take advantage of my opportunities.”
Junior Ryan Heflin will not dress the remainder of the trip after suffering a minor scratch to his left eye against Fribourg Olympic.
Ohio State connected on 35-of-85 shots from the field and 5-of-18 from 3-point range. Beauvais hit 31-of-66 and 4-of-19 from long range. OSU held the advantage at the free throw line, hitting 16-of-22, while Beauvais hit 9-of-14.
The Buckeyes play the Rueil Basketball Club at 8 p.m. Saturday. Ohio State travels to Amsterdam to play games Sunday and Monday before returning to Columbus Tuesday.
