The number 2 seeded Ohio State Buckeyes
pulled out a thrilling victory in The Staple Center Thursday night
sending them to the elite eight for the second year in a row. Arizona
was able to tie the game at 70 with less than a minute to go when
Senior guard Mark Lyons was fouled on a layup and then converted on
the free throw. But Ohio State sophomore LaQuinton Ross nailed a
clutch three pointer with 2.1 seconds on the clock from NBA range
sealing the victory and sending the number 4 seeded Wildcats home.
In the first half Arizona led by the
scoring of Mark Lyons and Solomon Hill held leads of up to 11 points
complimented by a stifling defense that held Ohio State to 40%
shooting.
The Wildcats were poised to break the
game open as the Buckeyes struggled to score in the first half and
relied heavily on Deshaun Thomas. When Thad Matta called time out
with 2 minutes left it seemed to energize his squad and they went on
a 12-5 run to finish the first half.
The momentum carried
over into the second half and the Buckeyes opened with a 10-0 run as
the Arizona defense faltered. OSU went on to shoot 45 percent from
the field in the second half and out rebounded the bigger Wildcats
17-13 after halftime.
Ohio State led 67-63 entering the
final two minutes but Mark Lyons hit both ends of a one and one and
drove inside for a layup to cut it to 70-67 entering the final minute
He was then able to drive to the basket and tie the game on an
acrobatic shot with 21.8 seconds left assisted by a LaQuinton Ross
foul.
But Ross who before the game was
assigned Kobe Bryant's locker knew he was destined for something
special that night and he delivered draining the long range three
that left the Wildcats with no time to work with. After the game Ross said "We like
to get the big men on a pick-and-roll. They messed up the switch
there, and I was able to knock down the shot. It's every kids dream to hit the game winner in the tournament"
Lyons led the Arizona scorers with 23
points, Solomon Hill added 16 points, but the rest of Arizona
combined for just 31 points on 10-for-29 shooting. Deshaun Thomas led
Ohio State with 20 points, Aaron Craft, Sam Thompson and
Ross all finished the night with double-digit scoring nights. Ohio
State extended their winning streak to 11 game and have not lost
since Feb. 17 when they were embarrassed by Wisconsin, before winning
the Big Ten tournament.
Saturday, Ohio State will face Wichita State with the winner advancing to the Final Four in Atlanta.
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