Darby’s 31 Leads Men’s Basketball to 111-64 Win – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 3, 2001
AMSTERDAM-Brent Darby scored 31 points and connected on 9-of-10 shots from the field and 10-of-11 free throws to lead Ohio State to a 111-64 win over Den Haag Cobras Sunday.
The Buckeyes shook off another long day of travel to improve to 5-0 on the trip, which will conclude with the final game of the European tour Monday in Amsterdam.
Darby, a junior point guard, led five Buckeyes in double figures after the team spent most of the day traveling from Paris to Den Haag by train and then taking a short bus ride to the game directly from the bus station.
It did not take long for Ohio State to build a comfortable lead over the Cobras, a Division “B” professional basketball club.
The Buckeyes connected on 17-of-25 shots in the first half and on 17-of-18 foul shots to build a 54-32 lead after the first two, 10-minute quarters.
Senior Boban Savovic scored 18 points followed by senior Brian Brown’s 16, sophomore Zach Williams’ 15 and junior Sean Connolly’s 10 points. Williams recorded the first double-double of the trip with 10 rebounds.
For the game, the Buckeyes scored on 40-of 67 (.597) shots from the field, 9-of-15 (.600) attempts from 3-point range and on 22-of-26 (.846) free throws.
Jim O’Brien, Ohio State head coach, said the team has repeatedly played well following the extensive travel.
“The thing that continues to amaze me is the players’ ability to perform after these long trips,” O’Brien said. “We played really hard defensively. We challenged the guys to play better on defense. I think we responded.
“We assisted (22) on over half of our made baskets. We played unselfish basketball and have been making the extra pass to find the open shooter.”
Darby said the travel has not affected the team that much.
“The time we have spent traveling has not been much of a problem,” Darby said. “We have been getting our rest. Once we get on the court none of that stuff matters. We just play.”
The Buckeyes were able to get several open shots by pushing the ball up the court and with guard penetration, especially in the first half by Darby, Savovic and Brown.
“I had a chance to get to the basket and to the free throw line in the first half,” Darby said. “In the second half, my outside shot fell.”
Den Haag made it to the foul line just nine times, making six, in the game. The Cobras connected on 26-of-69 (.377) shots from the field and 6-of-21 (.286) 3-point attempts.
The Ohio State players and traveling party arrived at the hotel in Amsterdam about 6:30 p.m. Sunday following the game. The team had the evening free and will take most of the morning to explore Amsterdam before the tour’s final game Monday evening.
