Welcome to Final Analysis!

We will try and provide this special extra column for most Ohio State men’s basketball games the rest of the way.

We’ll provide some quick answers to some ordinary questions as well as some analysis on how things transpired in each OSU game.

This time we look inside tonight’s 84-64 victory by the No. 17 Buckeyes over Lipscomb University at Value City Arena in Columbus.

Here we go:

* Player Of The Game – The last time we saw David Lighty play this well was against another Atlantic Sun team, Jacksonville, but fortunately this time he did not suffer a broken bone in his foot as he did last Dec. 17.

A 6-5 redshirt junior, Lighty pumped in a career-high 22 points and made several impressive finishes on drive as well as drilling all three of his three-point attempts. He finished 9 of 14 from the floor and added seven rebounds, one blocked shot and three steals in 36 impressive minutes. His three made threes also tied a career high.

“I was trying to use my advantage, my quickness, my strength on the slower defender and just attack,” he said. “And my shot was falling for me tonight. That gave me an opportunity to head fake and get to the basket and just create for my teammates.”

Lighty had eight points and five boards in the first half and took over the game early in the second. He skied down the lane the threw down a crowd-pleasing one-hand dunk to put the Buckeyes up 49-40 with 13:24 left and they never led by less than seven thereafter.

“We closed out long on him some in the second half, which we were not supposed to do, and then he drove by and punished us for closing out long,” Lipscomb coach Scott Sanderson said.

Lighty also did his usual laudable work on the defensive end, holding junior guard Josh Slater, who entered the game averaging 18.7 points per game, to eight points.

Lighty’s outstanding night somehow overshadowed the play of 6-7 point guard Evan Turner, who logged his second triple-double in five games and just the third in recorded school history. OSU’s leading scorer, rebounder and set-up man, Turner suffered major difficulty getting untracked in the first half with just two points and five turnovers but he managed to finish with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He was 8 of 14 from the field and also produced three blocks and two steals.

Could there be such a thing as a quiet triple-double?

“You saw it tonight,” Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. “That would be the definition, because I had no idea where he was. But he’s a great player and I thought he really did some things down the stretch to help us.”

* Key Moment – The Buckeyes (4-1) struggled to pull away from the visiting Bisons (0-4) throughout the first half but finally opened up some breathing room in the final two-plus minutes after leading just 25-24. Lighty started the surge by splashing a three with 2:07 to go in the half. Slater answered with a bomb of his own right in front of the OSU bench which made Matta shrug with strained respect.

Turner scored his first points at the 1:35 mark with a nifty left-handed scoop while fouled but missed the free throw, leaving the Buckeyes up 30-27.

After a turnover by Lipscomb, OSU guard Jon Diebler knocked in a three with 1:10 left to double the lead to six at 33-27. After another turnover by the Bisons, Diebler struck again with just a few ticks left on the game clock and the Buckeyes took a 36-27 lead to the locker room at intermission.

“The last two minutes of the first half was critical to us,” Sanderson said. “It was a one-point game and they outscore us 11-3 there to go up nine. How you end the half is huge, and they go on an 11-3 run. I think we turned it over four times in the first four possessions of the second half and they go on an 8- or 10-0 run. You can’t spot them a 21-3 or 19-3 run and have a chance to even compete with those guys.”

OSU actually began the second half with a 9-3 run but it was enough to open up a 15-point lead at 45-30.

* Unsung Hero – The Buckeyes didn’t need dominance inside, but the circumstances did require steady play out of Dallas Lauderdale on both ends of the court. They got it.

A long-armed 6-8 junior center, Lauderdale came into the game after swatting a career-high seven shots against No. 13 California on Friday night and made a difference again with 13 points, six boards and three rejections.

The only downside to his night was a 3-for-8 showing at the free-throw line, which led to a Bronx cheer from Buckeye fans when he made a pair in the second half.

He described his effort at the line as “horrible” and had no criticism of the fans.

The Bisons certainly had no reason to make fun of Lauderdale.

“He’s definitely a long player and athletic, and I’m definitely not used to that,” Lipscomb center Adnan Hozdic said. “It was definitely tough for me at first.”

The 6-9 Hozdic scored a game-high 18 points and added six rebounds but he came into the game averaging 22.7 ppg and 7.7 rpg.

By the time he stepped away and found a couple comfortable spots from which to shoot, the Buckeyes had control of the outcome. Hozdic was just 2 of 7 from the field in the first half.

* Best Sign – Turner’s second half.

He was becoming so frustrated and ineffective in the first 20 minutes that his frustration was evident and there were audible groans from the crowd. While some still question whether Turner can really handle the job at the point on a mostly full-time basis, he continues to figure out ways to make his presence felt. He piled up big numbers in the second half without committing a turnover.

* Worst Sign – Well, take your pick.

First off, the Buckeyes’ lethargy in the first half was evident in looking at the box score and seeing they had just one steal in those first 20 minutes. In the first few minutes of the second half, they had three more.

Also, the Buckeyes were just 7 of 17 at the free-throw line and at one point were 1 of 9. Joining Lauderdale in the brick club was Lighty, who was just 1 of 4 at the stripe.

Also concerning is the shooting funk that is enveloping 6-5 junior William Buford. He was a combined 7 of 26 from the field last week at Madison Square Garden against North Carolina and Cal and made just 1 of 7 shots in his return home against Lipscomb.

“We have full confidence in him,” Turner said. “This is the same kid who went 8 for 12 all jumpers vs. Purdue last year in our win last year. He helped carry us and he hit big shots and he’s a scorer. I think he’ll be fine. He’s a hard worker, he really wants to contribute and he’s a great guy.”

Since Turner is probably right that Buford will shake out of it, the worst sign actually is that Diebler and Turner had to play 39 minutes against Lipscomb, a program that was playing a ranked Division I team for just the third time in school history. Those guys are going to need some rest at some point in the preconference season.

* Overall – Turner admitted being winded and cited a lack of intensity and the Buckeyes didn’t seem to have much lift in their legs or motivation in their hearts for this one. They will need to crank it back up soon with games against Florida State, Butler and Cleveland State looming in the next three weeks.

* This Was A Step … backward. The Buckeyes didn’t use this game to continue to develop their bench, which was thinned earlier in the day with the news that reserve guard Walter Offutt had decided to leave the program. Also, Turner clearly was frustrated in the first half and stubbornly drove into traffic. Ohio State didn’t play like a top-20 team on this night.

* Next Up – The Buckeyes host St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday (5:30 p.m. Eastern, Big Ten Network). The Red Flash is off to a 1-3 start and is expected to be the doormat of the Northeast Conference. The team was just 6-23 last season including 3-15 in the conference. Still, St. Francis features a formidable scoring duo in swingman Devin Sweeney and center Mislav Jukic, who are both seniors. After that the pickings are slim on a roster filled with freshmen and transfers. Coach Don Friday probably is going to wish this game were on Friday – so it would be over before it started.

To read managing editor Steve Helwagen’s game story, click here.