The Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.

Saturday, March 03, 2001

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – When Penn State shut down Ohio State’s offense in the first half, Buckeyes coach Jim O’Brien came out with a new strategy: Forget the offense, just ”go out and play.”

Using a four-guard set, Ohio State overcame a 20-point halftime deficit to defeat Penn State 93-87 Saturday in the final regular season game for both teams.

Boban Savovic led the way for the Buckeyes (20-9, 11-5 Big Ten), scoring 17 of his 23 points in the second half – and creating just the kind of mismatches O’Brien hoped from his smaller, quicker lineup.

”He got loose a couple times on the perimeter and got a couple of 3s,” O’Brien said of Savovic. ”And he took the ball to the basket a couple times against bigger defenders.”

The Buckeyes tied the score at 81 when Brent Darby converted a three-point play, then took an 83-81 lead on Brian Brown’s runner in the lane with 1:46 left.

Savovic’s 3-pointer from the right corner put Ohio State up 86-81 with 1:01 left, and the Nittany Lions’ fate was sealed when Tyler Smith missed two close shots on the following possession.

Ken Johnson had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Buckeyes. Darby scored 15 points, and Brown finished with 14.

The win puts Ohio State in third place in the final Big Ten standings and gives the Buckeyes their third consecutive 20-win season. The Buckeyes will get a first-round bye in next week’s conference tournament.

”This was definitely a big win for us,” O’Brien said. ”Now we’re third by ourselves, and we will play someone in the second round who had to play Thursday.”

The first half was a nightmare for Ohio State, which had almost as many turnovers (11) as made baskets (12). So at halftime, O’Brien said he ”scrapped our offense and just said, ‘Go out and play.”’

In the second half, the Buckeyes’ quicker guards took Penn State one-on-one while the 6-foot-11 Johnson held down the post. Most of Ohio State’s points were scored either on dribble drives or when a penetrating guard kicked out to a 3-point shooter.

”We ran a couple of decent sets, but for the most part it was just, ‘Go by them,”’ O’Brien said.

Savovic scored 10 points, including two 3-pointers, in a 19-5 run that brought Ohio State within 73-69 with 5:42 left.

Penn State (17-10, 7-9) used with a 14-7 run to go up 68-50 with 11:05 left. The Nittany Lions drew four fouls in just 46 seconds, getting into the bonus with 13:48 left. But in the end, Penn State failed to convert on its free throws, hitting just three of eight free throws in the final 6:46.

The Nittany Lions missed 9 of their first 10 shots in the second half, and Ohio State opened the half with a 12-3 run to pull within 54-43 with 15:29 left.

”At halftime, we told them to continue to execute offensively and not take quick shots,” said Penn State coach Jerry Dunn. ”Obviously that didn’t happen.”

Penn State is back on the NCAA bubble after losing three of their last four games and failing to reach .500 in conference.

”I think they should be in the NCAA tournament,” said O’Brien, whose team lost at home to Penn State in January. ”I would love to see these kids, their senior class, get into the NCAA tournament.”

Joe Crispin led the Nittany Lions with 29 points, and Gyasi Cline-Heaed scored 19.

Crispin scored 19 of his points in the first half. Jon Crispin’s 3-pointer on an assist from his brother capped a 16-2 Penn State run that put the Nittany Lions up 28-19 with 5:55 left in the first half.

Penn State hit 8 of 14 3-pointers in the first half, and Smith’s 3-pointer with 9 seconds left gave the Nittany Lions a 51-31 lead going into halftime.