Guards Brandon Watkins and Sharif Chambliss did all they could to make up for their team's lack of an inside game, but they weren't able to save the outsized Penn State men's basketball team (5-9, 1-3 Big Ten) from suffering a blowout at the hands of Ohio State, 76-57 last night at the Value City Arena in Columbus.
The Buckeyes (13-2, 4-0) dominated the boards, especially in the first half, when Nittany Lion forwards Jan Jagla and Tyler Smith missed a lot of action due to foul trouble. They outrebounded the Lions 34-18, and kept them from getting a single offensive rebound in the first 34 minutes of the game. They also outscored the Lions 38-14 in the paint to maintain their perfect conference record and set themselves up for a weekend showdown with Indiana, the only other unbeaten remaining in the conference.
"We really had a hard time getting the ball inside in the first place," freshman forward Jan Jagla said. "They were playing good defense. They were big, and did a good job inside."
After the Buckeyes ran up a 19-8 lead to begin the game, Watkins and Chambliss kept the Lions from letting the game get out of reach, scoring 23 of the team's 27 first-half points. However, Ohio State got some breathing room before the break, outscoring the Lions 11-4 down the stretch to take a 34-27 halftime lead.
The Buckeyes slowly built on their advantage early in the second frame, and led 63-50 with seven minutes to go. A three by Lions guard Ken Krimmel cut the lead to ten with 6:46 left, but the Lions' shooting was frigid from that point on. They didn't make another field goal, and the Buckeyes outscored them 13-4 the rest of the way to finish the rout.
"We didn't help ourselves, we had a couple turnovers, we mishandled the ball," Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn said. "We got some decent looks at the basket and we couldn't get the shots to go down. When you're trying to close the gap and trying to really take the lead you have to get some shots to go down and you've got to make some good decisions."
The Buckeyes were able to balance their strong inside game with solid guard play and well-distributed scoring. Five Ohio State players scored in double figures, including all five starters.
Brian Brown and Babon Savovic led the squad with 15 points each. Brent Darby followed with 14, and forwards Zach Williams and Terence Dials chipped in with 13 and 10, respectively.
Chambliss had four threes on the night to lead the Lions with 18 points, and Watkins followed with 14. Despite getting in foul trouble in the first half, Jagla and Smith added nine points each.
Dunn knew early on that his team was not prepared for the game.
"For whatever reason I felt we were flat coming into this game and it showed up," he said.
Junior forward B.J. Vossekuil returned to the floor for the first time since the Lions' opener against Yale Nov. 18 after knee surgery, but sophomore swingman Jamaal Tate was out of commission with a shoulder injury.
The Lions' first chance to redeem themselves will be Saturday, when Michigan State travels to the Bryce Jordan Center for a game at 12:15 p.m.
"I think especially after this loss we can't wait to get the next game and show that we're better than that," Jagla said. "And show that we can really do a lot more than we showed tonight."
