Instacap: Second Half Run Sparks Ohio State in 70-62 Victory Over Fairleigh Dickinson

By Tim Shoemaker on December 3, 2016 at 6:23 pm
Kam Williams dunks during FDU on Saturday.
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If there was a halftime speech, it certainly felt like Ohio State heard the message loud and clear.

After leading a lowly Fairleigh Dickinson team by just one point at halftime Saturday afternoon, the Buckeyes used a 16-2 run to open the second half then hung on to defeat the visiting Knights at Value City Arena, 70-62.

  1 2 F
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 32 30 62
OHIO STATE 33 37 70

Ohio State put four players in double figures and was led by Marc Loving's team-high 18 points. Kam Williams scored 17 points in his fifth-straight start in place of the injured Keita Bates-Diop while Jae'Sean Tate (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Trevor Thompson (10 points, 12 boards) each recorded double-doubles for the Buckeyes.

Williams scored the final five points in Ohio State's run to open the second half while Tate had four. Loving's three-point play on a made dunk was the highlight and brought the relatively quiet crowd to life. The Buckeyes' largest lead in the second half was 17 points at 51-34 with 14 minutes, 34 seconds to play.

For the game, the Buckeyes shot 50 percent from the field and were 6-for-15 from behind the 3-point line. Ohio State also finished just 12-for-21 from the free-throw line.

Thad Matta said Friday he was anxious to see how his team performed after a tough loss against Virginia. He likely wasn't pleased with the first half.

OHIO STATE STAT FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON
70 POINTS 62
26–52 (50%) FGM-FGA (PCT.) 22–56 (39%)
6–15 (40%) 3PM-3PA (PCT.) 7–22 (32%)
12–21 (57%) FTM-FTA (PCT.) 11–14 (79%)
14 TURNOVERS 13
35 TOTAL REBOUNDS 33
8 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS 9
27 DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS 24
14 BENCH POINTS 13
5 BLOCKS 2
7 STEALS 4
16 ASSISTS 10

Ohio State led just 33-32 at halftime and trailed for nearly 10 minutes of action.

The Buckeyes were largely out of sync offensively in the opening 20 minutes before a late flurry that included back-to-back 3-pointers from Loving and Williams helped give Ohio State a one-point halftime advantage.

The Knights led by six points at 21-15 before the Buckeyes responded by scoring 18 points over the final 6:38 of the first half. Ohio State shot just 46 percent from the field in the early going and committed nine first-half turnovers — a stat which plagued it in the loss to the Cavaliers.

Loving led the way with 13 first-half points while Williams added 10. Each played had a pair of first-half 3-pointers. Trevor Thompson came off the bench to contribute four points, five rebounds and three blocks in the first half. 

Ohio State will next be in action Tuesday against Florida Atlantic.

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