Buford, Turner each have 15 as OSU rolls to 86-48 win in exhibition action.
His team has only been practicing for about 2-1/2 weeks. But with the 2009-10 season opener just five days away on Monday, OSU men’s basketball coach Thad Matta was glad to test drive his team and see what he might have.
Matta came away mostly pleased after his Buckeyes dispatched vising Walsh 86-48 in a men’s college basketball exhibition game before 12,504 Wednesday night at Value City Arena.
“We did a pretty decent job tonight,” Matta said. “When we got some clean rebounds, we were able to get out and go in transition. That’s huge for this basketball team. One of our primary things was taking care of the basketball and we did a pretty decent job with 11 (turnovers).”
William Buford and Evan Turner each scored 15 points to lead five players in double figures for the Buckeyes. OSU held a commanding 40-24 halftime lead and rolled to the win over its NAIA Division II opponent. The Buckeyes, who return all five starters from last year’s team that ended up 22-11, are ranked 16th in the preseason Associated Press poll and 17th in the USA Today coaches poll.
Turner, considered by some as a preseason All-American candidate, also had 14 rebounds and six assists in 24 minutes of work.
“I thought that Evan played a tremendous game all around,” Matta said. “One of the biggest differences for him is he is playing with more patience and seeing things and looking to get guys involved. He realizes the more he gives, the more it comes back to him.”
Turner was making his debut as the starter at point guard for the Buckeyes. He only had one turnover.
“I got to run the floor a little bit,” said Turner, who flirted with a triple-double. “I had hot shooters to throw to. I was lucky to be around the four players we had on the floor because they can really play ball.
“I just made sure I didn’t throw it to the other team. We all know in past years it was a 50/50 (proposition).”
Buford was 6 of 8 from the floor and made his only three-point attempt.
“The thing I was most pleased with with William was his defense in the second half,” Matta said. “As a freshman last year, he would lose interest in a game like that. Tonight, he gritted his teeth and got into a stance. That’s a big transition for him. I thought he was very efficient offensively.”
David Lighty added 11 points in his first game action at Value City Arena since he went down with a foot injury last December. Jeremie Simmons and Jon Diebler each had 10 points. OSU ended up 37 of 59 (62.7 percent) from the floor.
“There are a lot of things we need to work on, but I think there were a lot of positive things we did out there,” Diebler said. “Our man-to-man defense was pretty good, too. That’s something we’ve been working on.”
Returning center Dallas Lauderdale has yet to practice full-go as he nurses an injury to the ring finger on his right hand. In his place, senior Kyle Madsen started. He finished with four points and two rebounds before fouling out in 16 minutes. UAB transfer Zisis Sarikopoulos had eight points and three rebounds in 21 minutes. He connected on 4 of 5 shots from the floor.
“I thought they did a very good job,” Matta said of his inside duo. “With those two guys, you’ve got good size. They did a good job in guarding their big kid. For Zisis coming out and playing his first game in a couple of years, I was happy for him because it’s been a long time.”
The Buckeyes also got three points from wing Nikola Kecman, who played in one game last season before suffering a knee injury. Danny Peters and Walter Offutt each had two points for the Buckeyes.
Matta was also pleased with his team’s man-to-man defense. OSU was almost exclusively a zone team last year.
“Overall, I thought it was pretty good,” he said. “Overall, I thought it was pretty good. We had a segment where we quit communicating and it got us a couple times. I thought overall guys had a pretty good idea of what we were trying to do.”
The Buckeyes got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 29-9 lead after hitting 12 of their first 16 shots from the floor. After the game was tied 4-4 at the onset, OSU went on a 25-4 run. Kyle Madsen started it with a baseline jumper. Buford then had a layup off a Lighty steal and splashed a three off a feed from Turner on the secondary break.
Lighty then had a layup inside. Turner rebounded his own miss and also tallied off a loose ball when Walsh could not secure a defensive rebound. Jeremie Simmons then completed a three-point play off a driving layup. Lighty then hit a three. Diebler hit a jumper and Buford capped the run as he hit an 18-foot jumper and made a pair of free throws to put OSU ahead 29-9 with 9:20 left in the first half.
Walsh’s Jeremy Shardo hit a three late in the half to cut the halftime advantage to 40-24.
The Buckeyes went on a 9-0 run early in the second half to extend the lead to 25. Turner rebounded his own miss, Buford had a jam on the break, Diebler hit a three off a pass from Turner and Sarikopoulos scored inside off a Turner feed to make it 54-29 with 15:09 left.
OSU went on an 11-0 run midway through the half to get the lead out to 31. Diebler hit a three. Turner scored on a pair of jumpers, Sarikopoulos scored inside and Buford hit a jumper to make it 70-39 with 5:40 left in the game.
OSU led by as many as 36 after Simmons had a layup to make it 82-46 with 2:06 left. Walk-on Danny Peters gave OSU its final margin of 38 with a layup with 38 seconds left.
Former Canton McKinley star Ricky Jackson led Walsh with 14 points. Walsh was 27-4 last year and is picked to contend this year in NAIA Division II.
* Matta provided an update on Lauderdale, who has yet to practice with the team due to his hand injury.
“Everything looked good on the X-ray,” Matta said. “(Trainer) Vinnie (O’Brien) is working on putting together a pad. He’s been working more and more with us defensively. I’m hoping by Friday we can get him back in the mix. I don’t know if he will be ready to go Monday night. I think he is and he thinks he is, but we’re not MDs.”
* The Buckeyes open the 2009-10 season by hosting a pair of games next week in the 2K Sports Classic. OSU hosts Alcorn State Monday and James Madison Thursday. Both games are set for a 7 p.m. start and will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
* Below we have videos featuring Matta and several players from the postgame press conference.
Here is a video session with Buford, Diebler, Turner and Sarikopoulos.
