Diebler’s 3s lead OSU to an easy win

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Nine straight times Jon Diebler flicked his wrist behind the arc, and every time the ball swished through the net.

It was one of the greatest shooting performances ever for an Ohio State player.

Diebler matched an Ohio State record with those nine 3-pointers, scoring a career-high 29 points and leading the second-ranked Buckeyes past Florida Gulf Coast 83-55 on Wednesday night.

“I knew I missed my first two of the game and Coach [Thad Matta] told me I wasn’t ready to shoot and to just get ready and get my feet set,” the senior guard said. “I started doing that and they started falling for me.”

Boy, did they. After hitting nine in a row, he stayed in another four minutes but missed his last three attempts at the record. That made him 9 for 14 overall on 3s.

“When he let it go, you felt good that it was going to go in,” Matta said. “Even the last couple he missed I thought were pretty good looks and had a chance.”

Matta said it was more than just a sharp night.

“The thing about Jon, and I’ve said this since the day he got here, for every nine he made, he’s probably shot 90,000 in the offseason,” he said. “To see him shoot the ball like this is rewarding because the work’s paying off.”

Diebler passed Jay Burson to become Ohio’s leading high school scorer four years ago. The nine 3s were a Value City Arena record and tied the school mark previously held by Burson.

“We can’t get away from each other, I guess,” Diebler said with a grin.

He has made a school-best 291 shots behind the arc. With his second 3 of the game, Diebler moved past Indiana’s A.J. Guyton (1997-2000) into seventh place all-time in 3-pointers made by Big Ten players.

William Buford became the 47th Buckeye player to reach the 1,000-point career mark, finishing with 17 points. Jared Sullinger, the Buckeyes’ 6-foot-9 center, added 11 for Ohio State (9-0). He had scored 40 points, a freshman school record, just two games ago.

“Eventually we’re going to have to put it together,” Matta said. “That’s a thing we’re still striving for. That’s kind of how we preach to our team, that we want to be able to strike inside and outside.”

Chase Fieler had 12 points and Anthony Banks 10 for the Eagles (2-6), playing their first game after an 11-day break.

The Eagles were intent on preventing Sullinger from going off on them. As a result, they tried to pack the middle whenever possible.

“Ohio State does such a good job of taking what the opponents give them,” coach Dave Balza said.