In front of a sold out crowd at Northwest Florida State College in the semi final round of the Emerald Coast Classic, Ohio State downed 17th ranked Alabama 92-81 to move to the championship tomorrow. The win improved Ohio State to 4-1 and dropped Alabama to 4-1. Bruce Thornton led Ohio State with a career high 29 and Roddy Gayle added a career high 23 as the Buckeyes controlled the tempo for much of the night en route to a major, confidence building victory. The Buckeyes controlled the glass all night long, out rebounding the bigger Crimson Tide team, 32-24 and outshooting the Tide 54% to 46%, including a blistering 56% from beyond the arc. The lead extended in the second half in no small part due to a better job taking care of the basketball.
Three straight turnovers to open the game for the Buckeyes led to 6 quick Crimson Tide points before a Bruce Thornton triple got Ohio State on the board. A Buckeye steal led to Roddy Gayle scoring at the rim off the dribble drive to trim the Bama lead to 1. A Tide bucket was followed by another Thornton triple to tie the score and the Buckeyes went ahead when Gayle drilled a three and at the first media break, Ohio State led 11-8. Out of the timeout, a Bama triple tied the score but Felix Okpara caught a loose ball under the bucket and scored to put Ohio State back in front. Six straight Alabama points led into the under 12 with the Tide now leading 17-13. A Bama deuce out of the timeout extended the lead before Scotty Middleton broke the 8-0 Tide run with a triple from the corner. Evan Mahaffey grabbed a steal of a cross court pass and led a break and his shot attempt was tipped in by Middleton to cut the deficit to 1. Bama completed an old-fashioned three point play to back ahead 4, but a turnaround left hand hook by Zed Key cut the deficit back to 2. A Thornton jumper from the elbow re-tied the game and at the under 8 media timeout with 7 minutes even to play in the first half, the game was deadlocked at 22. Ohio State regained the lead when Thornton buried a 16 foot jumper from the top of the key, but a Bama triple broke the Ohio State 6-0 run to go back ahead. Another Bama bucket extended the Tide lead, but Dale Bonner curled to the left point and buried the three to tie the game once again and at the final media timeout, the score was knotted at 27. Out of the timeout, Thornton went to the stripe and buried both of his free throw attempts. Alabama scored to answer and re-tie the score, but on the other end Gayle got to the rim and through contact, scored off the glass. The ensuing free throw dropped to complete the old-fashioned three point play and put the Buckeyes up 3. A Bama deuce cut into the Buckeye lead, but a pair of Thornton freebies dropped to answer. Another Tide bucket dropped before Key hit a hook mid-paint to hold the Ohio State lead at 3. Gayle backed in from the wing and wrapped a pass in the post to Key for a lay-in to extend the lead to 5 and that would end the scoring for the first half with Ohio State taking a 38-33 lead into the locker room. Both teams shot it at a high clip with the Buckeyes hitting 54% of their shot attempts, including 5 of 12 from long range, while Alabama made 52% of their attempts. The rebounding edge was heavily in favor of Ohio State, out rebounding the bigger Crimson Tide 17-9, while both teams turned it over a bit much with the Buckeyes giving it away 10 times to Alabama’s 7. Ohio State was led by Bruce Thornton’s 14, while Roddy Gayle added 8. Alabama was led by Aaron Estrada’s 12.
Alabama opened the first half with a turnover and Ohio State took advantage as Mahaffey dropped in a short jumper in the middle of the paint. Bama went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 2, but Jamison Battle ended the run, drilling a three from the left wing. Bama quickly the other way scored near the rim but Ohio State raced to the other end and Gayle hit a runner to answer. A pair of Tide free throws cut the lead to 3 and on the other end Battle stroked a 17 footer from the top to extend the lead back to 5. After an offensive foul gave the ball back to Ohio State, Battle was mauled attempting a jumper to send him to the stripe following the under 16 media timeout with Ohio State leading Alabama 47-42. Battle drilled both freebies out of the timeout and after Key caught the ball on the left block and found Bonner in the right corner for three, Ohio State led by 10. Bama answered with a triple of their own, but Gayle scored at the right block to put the Buckeyes back up 9. The lead extended to 11 when Battle found Key at the rim for a dunk. The Tide drilled a three on their end, but Bonner answered with a three, his third of the game to answer and hold the lead at 11. A foul on a three point attempt put Bama on the stripe for three and two dropped and at the under 12 media timeout, Ohio State led Alabama 59-50. A Bama triple cut the lead to 6. Gayle answered with a foul line jumper and after the Tide split a pair of free throws, a Buckeye turnover led to an easy transition deuce. A pair of Key free throws extended the lead to 7 and stopped the 4 point Tide mini run. Ohio State went back ahead 10 when Thornton drilled a three from the top and after a stop on the defensive end, Thornton buried another three forcing Alabama to call timeout with 8:46 to play and Ohio State leading 69-56. Ohio State added to their lead when Thornton banged down a pair of free throws and at the under 8 media timeout, the Buckeyes were enjoying a 10-0 run and leading the game 71-56. Out of the timeout, Alabama ended the run at the stripe, hitting three in a row to trim the lead to 12. On the other end, Battle put it on the floor and drew a foul going to the basket and knocked down both his free throw opportunities. Bama out scored Ohio State 6-1 over the next 2 minutes to cut the lead to 10, with the lone Buckeye point coming from a Key free throw. A pair of Gayle free throws put Ohio State back ahead by 12, but a Bama triple cut the Buckeye lead back to 9 with 5:23 to play and Ohio State took a timeout. Out of the 30 second timeout, Thornton was mauled near the perimeter sending him to the stripe where he split the pair to put the Buckeyes up by 10. Bama went back to the foul line on their end and both shots dropped to cut the lead to 8. Gayle answered, getting to the rim off the bounce for two off the glass. Gayle extended the Ohio State lead, burying a pair of free throws and at final media timeout with 3:36 to play, the Buckeyes led the Crimson Tide 81-69. The Buckeye advantage increased to 14 when Thornton banged down a pair of free throws. The Tide chipped into the lead with a lay up, but the ensuing free throw fell off target where Mahaffey corralled the rebound and was fouled in the backcourt. He drilled the pair to answer. Bama scored the next 7 to cut the lead to 7 with 1:24 to play. The Buckeyes used the majority of the shot clock before Gayle drove the right lane and as he was fouled, his shot high off the board fell through the cylinder. His free throw dropped to complete the old-fashioned three point play and Ohio State led by 10 with a minute to play. Bama split a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 9 and the foul game began. Thornton was fouled in the backcourt and his pair fell and the Buckeye celebration was beginning. A Tide bucket followed by a pair of Thornton free throws and that was all the scoring as Ohio State completed a big win.
A huge quad 1 win for a basketball team that needed one. Ohio State handled the Alabama tempo and defensive pressure by moving without the ball in the halfcourt, hitting open shots and rebounding the basketball at a high level. In a neutral court environment that was clearly pro-Alabama, it felt like a road game and the young Buckeyes answered every charge the Crimson Tide put on them. The Ohio State backcourt of Thornton and Gayle is quickly becoming one of the best in America and it showed on this night. Felix Okpara is developing into a defensive menace by forcing teams to alter shots in the paint and in addition he pulled down 10 big rebounds as Ohio State kept Alabama off the glass and limiting their second chance opportunities. The Buckeyes turned it over 10 times in the first half and just 4 times in the second 20 minutes, which enabled them to take advantage and convert on the additional offensive possessions and playing a team the caliber of Alabama, valuing those possessions was imperative and it resulted in a win. They will get some rest tonight and get ready for a quick turnaround for the championship game tomorrow evening. As Coach Holtmann said after the game, “Let’s make this a great Buckeye weekend!” Until tomorrow night, Go Bucks, beat Xichigan!
Ohio State will play in the championship game of the Emerald Coast Classic, facing the winner of Oregon and Santa Clara for a scheduled tip of 7PM and airing on CBS Sports Network.
-Jason Harris