Ohio State Buckeyes overpower South Carolina Gamecocks 74-66 - NCAA Basketball
On Saturday night, Ohio State Buckeyes played most part of this game without their star player Jared Sullinger, who injured his left foot in the first six minutes of the game. However, they still had enough depth in their lineup
to thump South Carolina Gamecocks 74-66.
Deshaun Thomas carried the mantle for them on the night.
Thomas erupted with a career high 30 points including 13 for 16 from inside the arc while William Buford added another 17, dished out 5 assists and pulled down 5 rebounds. No other player from the side managed to end with score
in double figures; however the combined effort of Buford and Thomas was enough to guide the team to victory.
From the other end, Gamecocks fought gallantly.
They finished the first half with a 4 point lead 33-29 and despite losing the lead in the first few minutes of the second frame, managed to stay within striking range. However as the game progressed, Buckeyes started to dominate
and took the game miles away from Spartans.
Malik Cooke marshalled the Gamecocks with 21 points on 9 for 10 shooting from the charity stripe, while Anthony Gill had 11. There was nothing much to differentiate between both teams in the overall stats, however Buckeyes clearly
displayed better abilities on the glass, as they pulled down 34 rebounds in contrast to Gamecocks 19.
Sullinger opened the scoring for Buckeyes with a driving layup followed by a free throw to get his team in front 3-0.
Both teams fought hard after that and the scores were tied at 11 all. At that point, Thomas and Buford combined to initiate a 7-0 burst to get Buckeyes ahead by 18-11, however it was countered by a well timed 11-4 run, capped by
Eric Smith three, that brought both teams level again, at 22 all this time.
The next few minutes saw momentum shifts as the lead kept on shifting from one side to the other, however by the end of the frame, Gamecocks were in a better position at 33-29.
Thomas, Buford and Aaron Craft all contributed in a 12-4 run, that was bolted by Buckeyes in the starting minutes of second frame. The burst got the Ohio ahead by 41-37 and within the next few minutes, the lead swelled to double
figures 57-46 as Gamecocks went cold from the floor.
The Gamecocks had still some fight left though. They managed to bring down the lead to single digits but every time, they surged the Buckeyes were ready with a counter punch. In the end, the Gamecocks found themselves 8 points
short.
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