Buckeyes Outlast Huskies, 64-60

TOP GUNS: UConn’s Jalen Adams and Ohio State’s Trevor Thompson battle

for a rebound in the first half of Saturday night’s game. The Buckeyes
defeated the Huskies, 64-60.

By Bob Phillips

After defeating Syracuse on Monday at Madison Square Garden, the University of Connecticut Huskies were hopeful of following that success with another win over a big-time program. But on Saturday, while the effort was there, the results came up just short. And while the game proved to be a back-and-forth affair through most of the contest, despite a game-high 19 points from Jalen Adams, a career night from Ohio State sixth man Trevor Thompson (17 points, 17 rebounds) and a 21-point advantage from the foul line spelled the difference as the Buckeyes came away with a 64-60 victory before 12,313 fans at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

The Huskies, who fell to 4-5, were depleted from the get-go with freshman Juwan Durham (flu) not even making the trip to the heartland, and both UConn big men, Amida Brimah and Kentan Facey, picking up their fourth fouls midway through the second period. That allowed Ohio State, which was hell-bent on getting a “W” after losing to lowly Florida Atlantic in OT in their last outing, to attack the paint relentlessly, which translated into numer
ous trips to the charity stripe. And the Buckeyes made good on the Huskies’ generosity, knocking down 26 of the 34 opportunities they were handed from the foul line.

Adams banged in a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Huskies into the locker room with a 34-32 lead at intermission. They came out strong in the second half, building an eight-point cushion—42-34—in the opening three and a-half minutes of the second half. But then, it all started to unravel, thanks largely to 16 UConn turnovers.

“We've got to make the plays when it counts,” said Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie after the game. “We got two turnovers when we got the game tied with three minutes to go. Just careless turnovers. We've got to take care of the ball.”

That UConn committed 27 fouls to Ohio State’s 12, which sent the Buckeyes to the line 34 times compared to the Huskies’ nine, was also another huge contributing factor to the ultimate four-point margin of victory for the Buckeyes.

“We've just got to get better at staying out of foul trouble," said Brimah (8 points, 6 boards in just 18 minutes on the floor). “We had a short team, but we can't use that as an excuse. We've got to do a better job leading when we get in situations like this.”

The Huskies will try to right the ship and pull back to .500 when they take on North Florida on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m., and the game will be televised live on SNY.

THE SKINNY