OSU’s road woes continue in loss to Gophers, 73-62

Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Blake Hoffarber kept finding himself open behind the arc, where he’s rarely going to hesitate to sling those smooth left-handed shots.

The ball was moving for Minnesota, just the way coach Tubby Smith wants it.

Hoffarber scored a career-high 27 points, with six 3-pointers in the second half, to lead the Gophers to a 73-62 victory over Ohio State on Saturday.

Lawrence Westbrook added 15 points for Minnesota (12-4, 3-1 Big Ten), which bounced back in a big way from a 79-60 defeat at fourth-ranked Purdue earlier in the week. Hoffarber, the conference’s leading 3-point shooter at better than 50 percent, had only three points in that game.

“I was just finishing the play and doing what I was supposed to do,” said Hoffarber, who scored 26 against Northern Illinois on Dec. 15, when he set the school record with eight 3-pointers. “I like to shoot open shots.”

Hoffarber noticed he was rather stagnant against the Boilermakers, so he made an extra effort to move without the ball. That pleased Smith, who criticized his team for firing too quickly at Purdue.

“Nobody’s defense is going to break down after a couple passes,” Smith said. “We’ve really worked on that. That was a big key to our offense. Patience just doesn’t happen.”

Evan Turner was held to five points in the first half before getting going late for Buckeyes (11-5, 1-3). He had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes, his second game back after missing more than a month while broken bones in his back healed.

Turner is still rounding into form after that scary injury, and collectively the Buckeyes are struggling.

“Honestly, I think you’ve got to take our record out of the equation right now,” coach Thad Matta said. “We’ve got to continue to get better. Obviously, it’s not going to get any easier.”

Ohio State’s David Lighty scored 15 points, but he fouled out. Dallas Lauderdale managed only two points and missed 3 of 5 free throws. The Buckeyes lost their fourth straight away game, and they’ve dropped seven of their last eight Big Ten road games dating to last February.

Coming up Tuesday is a trip to Purdue, which fell Saturday at No. 17 Wisconsin for its first loss this season.

“We’re fine,” Lighty insisted. “We knew it was going to be a tough stretch.”

After missing the last two games with a sprained ankle and then aggravating the injury in Friday’s practice, Ralph Sampson returned to the floor for the Gophers. He gave his replacement in the starting lineup, Colton Iverson, some relief from colliding with the bruising Lauderdale. Sampson finished with two points, six rebounds, three blocks and a calming presence on the court.

Ohio State women

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Ohio State has a very potent inside-outside combination with center Jantel Lavender and point guard Samantha Prahalis.

It’s a one-two punch that keeps the No. 6 Buckeyes as the team to beat in the Big Ten after Saturday’s 65-62 victory at No. 19 Michigan State.

Prahalis scored 32 points while Lavender had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Buckeyes (17-1, 5-0), who are seeking a record sixth straight Big Ten regular season crown. Both Ohio State stars made clutch plays late to keep the Buckeyes alone in first place in the early conference race.

“In close games down the stretch, we’re always going to have an opportunity because we have a great point guard and we have a great center,” Ohio State coach Jim Foster said. “You just have to be patient and make sure they’re involved in those plays.”