Tuesday, December 31, 2002
The Buckeyes beat Hampton without Terrence Dials of Boardman, who is injured.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Zach Williams and Ohio State benefited from Jim O'Brien's pointed halftime advice.
Frustrated by his players' inability to hit the outside shot in the first half Monday night, O'Brien ordered his players to pass the ball inside.
His decree helped spark the rally that led to a 70-62 victory over Hampton, the Buckeyes' fourth straight win.
"He told me I needed to get the ball and be a presence on the inside," said Williams, who scored six of his 12 points down the stretch.
"It was important for us to make plays at the end of the game," he said. "We did that and put on tremendous pressure on defense. When you do that, you're going to win games."
Turnaround
After making just 9-for-24 shots in the first half, the Buckeyes (7-3) made 13-for-20 from the field and 13-for-14 at the foul line in the second half to turn the game around.
"I was not really happy with our inability to throw the ball inside," O'Brien said. "Zach had two shots and Velimir [Radinovic] had one in the first half.
"We need to be throwing the ball in more than that. So we really got on our guys at halftime and we really simplified the things we wanted to do on offense to ensure that we would run things where we would get the ball in."
Williams scored six straight on a layup and four free throws to give Ohio State a 57-55 lead with 4:39 remaining.
After Hampton tied it at 57 on Devin Green's jumper, Radinovic scored down low to give the Buckeyes the lead for good.
The Pirates (4-3) didn't score from the 2:40 mark until there were 20 seconds remaining, allowing Ohio State to avoid its first loss to a team not ranked in the top five nationally.
Ohio State's losses have come to Alabama, Pittsburgh and Duke -- now ranked Nos. 1-3.
"We are delighted because we just beat a very good basketball team," O'Brien said. "I thought with the exception of the three games we lost, this is the best team we played.
"I cannot imagine them struggling in their league and not being able to get in the NCAA tournament."
Brent Darby led Ohio State with 16 points. Radinovic added 12 points and Emonte Jernigan had 11.
Dials out
Ohio State center Terrence Dials of Boardman will be out four-to-six weeks after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back, the school said Monday.
Dials last played on Dec. 18 against Pittsburgh. He has missed three games since then after having back spasms.
Dials was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lumbar spine, which requires inactivity and rest to treat. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound sophomore averaged seven points and 5.8 rebounds in the first six games of the season.