Right: REJECTED! Ohio State’s freshman center B.J. Mullens swats the shot of Delaware State’s Kris Douse. (AP Photo)
Thanks to those singers Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson performing at Value City Arena, Thad Matta’s basketball Buckeyes played their season-opener down the street at St. John Arena.
Sure, everyone waxes nostalgic when the basketball team is forced to play games at their old home due to a scheduling conflict at the new one. But in reality, St. John was not that great of an arena, especially if you ever had to sit in the balcony.
I had the privilege to watch some tremendous players perform on the St. John’s hardwood from Allan Hornyak, Luke Witte, Kelvin Ransey and Herb Williams in the 70s, to Clark Kellogg, Tony Campbell, Dennis Hopson, and Jay Burson in the 80s. Plus you can’t forget some of the great teams Randy Ayers’ coached in the early 90s with Jim Jackson, Treg Lee, Lawrence Funderburke, Perry Carter, Chris Jent, Jamaal Brown and Mark Baker.
Of course, there are some aspects of today’s St. John Arena that I don’t remember from those days, like trying to figure out where the basketball court is in the middle of a volleyball one.
One cool thing that I remember vividly as a kid going to St. John’s was during the National Anthem, in which all of the arena lights were turned off while spotlights brigtly displayed the large American flag that hung over center court as the OSU band played.
More than 6,200 fans ventured down memory lane instead of jumping into a frigid Mirror Lake to watch Ohio State defeat Delaware State 70-42, Thursday night.
Three Buckeyes scored in double figures as junior David Lighty and freshman William Buford each added 13 points, while junior Jeremie Simmons chipped in an even 10.
Three sophomores were next on the scoring ledger as guard Jon Diebler had nine points, guard Evan Turner poured in eight, and forward Dallas Lauderdale had seven points to go along with seven blocked shots.
Ohio State shot 52.4 percent (22-of-42) from the field, and went 11-of-21 in each half, but fared better from beyond the arc in the second period. For the game, the Buckeyes were 8-of-19 from three-point range.
Defensively, Ohio State held Delaware State 37.2 percent shooting (16-of-43) from the floor, forced 20 turnovers and cashed them in for 18 points.
Surprisingly, the much smaller Hornets outrebounded the Buckeyes 26-25.
The Buckeyes claimed a 13-3 lead with 14:19 left in the first half after Simmons and Diebler drained three-pointers and the Hornets never threaten as Ohio State held a double-digit advantage the rest of the game.
The Buckeyes led 35-22 at the intermission break and scored 10 of the first 13 points to start the second half and opened up a 45-25 advantage after a trey by Simmons with 18:41 left to play.
Up next, the Buckeyes will host Bowling Green, Monday night. Tip-off at Value City Arena is scheduled for 8:00 p.m., and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Tags: Buckeye Basketball by Matt Barker
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Right: Entering his 12th season, Jimmy Tillette is Samford’s all-time winningest coach with an overall record of 179-145. (AP Photo)
