Buckeyes rally for victory over Tennessee St., 74-65

Former Boardman standout Terence Dials had 19 points for the Buckeyes.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- It may take Ohio State a while to get used to being ranked.
Je'Kel Foster continued on his scoring tear with 19 points and No. 24 Ohio State rallied down the stretch to beat Tennessee State 74-65 on Friday night.
Terence Dials (Boardman) also scored 19 points -- 15 of them in the second half -- for the Buckeyes (8-0), who jumped into the Top 25 this week for the first time in almost four years. Jamar Butler added 10 points and seven assists.
"We always looked at opponents differently when they were ranked," Ohio State swingman J.J. Sullinger said. "It puts a target on your back. You know a team coming in will give you its best."
Foster on streak
Foster was the Big Ten's player of the week last week, averaging 18 points in three victories while shooting 63 percent from the field and 58 percent behind the arc.
"I credit my teammates with getting me wide-open shots," said Foster. "Like last week, I'm just getting shots, taking my time and knocking them down."
Wayne Arnold was 7-of-8 from 3-point range and scored 23 points for the Tigers (2-4), while Bruce Price had 14 points and seven assists and Reiley Ervin added 12 points.
Price went down late in the game with a knee injury and coach Cy Alexander said he feared it could be season-ending.
"That would make this particularly disheartening," Alexander said.
Best start in 15 years
The Buckeyes, 8-0 for the first time in 15 years, trailed 55-52 with 10:43 left after Tennessee State's Kareem Grant scored inside off an assist from Price. But the Tigers, playing their fifth road game in a row, didn't score again for the next 7 1/2 minutes.
"Everything starts at the defensive end," Dials said. "We gave up a lot of easy baskets and they also hit some tough shots. We picked up the intensity."
Coach Thad Matta, who said he was more nervous going into this game than any so far this season, agreed that the Buckeyes worked harder on defense to shut down the Tigers.
"We were more active," he said. "We took away their penetration better and did a better job of helping and recovering."
Took lead for keeps
Foster hit a jumper and then tossed a lob pass inside to Dials for a layup to give the Buckeyes the lead for good at 56-55 with 9:10 left. After the Buckeyes hit five free throws, Butler scored off a backdoor pass from Foster and Foster then hit a baseline drive to make it 65-55.
Tennessee State, which missed nine shots from the field and two free throws during its drought, finally broke through on Ervin's 3-pointer at the 3:17 mark. The Tigers never got closer than five points again.
"It was poise and not being tough enough yet as a young team to handle a lead on the road," Alexander said of the dry spell. "We had people trying to do too much, taking shots too quickly. ... Basketball is a game of runs and we've got to work to shorten the opponent's runs from 5 minutes to 2 minutes."
The Tigers were 13-of-28 on 3-pointers but were overwhelmed in free throws. Preferring to stay on the perimeter on offense, they were 4-of-6 from the line to Ohio State's 20-of-25.