Healing Sullinger leads OSU to win

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Jared Sullinger felt he needed to play, even if he wasn’t 100 percent.

Whatever that percentage was, it was still pretty good.

Sullinger bounced back from his latest injury to score 18 points and grab 11 rebounds, leading No. 2 Ohio State past Lamar 70-50 on Tuesday night.

“It’s life. You don’t go through a career in basketball injury-free,” the 6-foot-9 sophomore said. “Fortunately, it’s now instead of life.”

The most important stat was that he played 30 minutes.

“I missed too much,” he said of his recent minutes lost due to physical ailments. “The back spasms and now the foot, I’ve got to get back into the routine. I can’t really sit here and wait for it to heal up. By that time, I won’t have my timing down on plays, defensively or offensively. So I had to get back as soon as possible.”

Coach Thad Matta said it was essential for Sullinger to get back on the court. He said any absence, but particularly that of your best player, adds to the trials of being a coach.

“It does because you’re not in full force. It’s the unknown — is this guy going to play, is he going to practice, how good is he if he does,” Matta said. “Without question those are some of the things that play into it. Hopefully now we’re getting him back and we can continue to see the improvement on a daily basis.”

Deshaun Thomas, chosen as the Big Ten’s player of the week on Monday, added 16 points for the Buckeyes (11-1). His streak of making 17 consecutive two-point field goal attempts ended on his first shot of the game.

Devon Lamb and Stan Brown each had 10 points for Lamar (8-4), which had a four-game winning streak come to an end. The Cardinals’ record against Big Ten teams dropped to 1-5.

The Cardinals were 0 for 12 on 3-point shots.