Second-half Hoffarber Barrage Sinks Buckeyes
January 9, 2010
Blake Hoffarber made seven three-point baskets, including his first six in the second half, and Al Nolen had a strong all-around game (11 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals) as the Minnesota Gophers upped their Big Ten record to 3-1 with a 73-62 win over Ohio State.
The Buckeyes were bolstered in the first half, which ended with them holding a 33-32 lead, on the back of junior sensation Evan Turner, in his second game after returning from an injury. Turner broke two bones in his back in a hard fall to the floor after a dunk in a December 5 game. It was thought he would be out for two months, but he came back January 6 and played 20 minutes against Indiana, Ohio State’s only conference win as they dropped to 1-3 with their loss to the Gophers.
With strips, steals, and blocks, Turner led Ohio State in the first half, scoring five points to go with four rebounds and five assists.
The teams exchanged baskets early in the second half before Nolen, following two offensive rebounds by Ralph Sampson, popped a three-point basket for a 40-37 Minnesota lead. The Buckeyes never caught up as they couldn’t combat the Gophers’ trapping defense while having their own defensive breakdowns, especially by leaving Hoffarber open on the perimeter.
“We made some huge mistakes defensively, and he’s that good that he can make you pay,” said Ohio State coach Thad Matta of Hoffarber.
“I think that on any given night we have such a deep team that anyone could step up, and tonight I just was getting open, and guys like Al and Damian [Johnson] were setting good screens,” said Hoffarber. “I was just finishing the play and doing what I was supposed to do, so if it doesn’t happen next game, hopefully someone else will step up.”
Hoffarber finished with a career-high 27 points, and his seven three-pointers (out of nine attempts) were just one short of his personal best.
Ralph Sampson, who missed the previous two games with an ankle sprain and aggravated the injury the day before the Ohio State game, didn’t start, but he came off the bench to block three shots and grab six rebounds, three of them offensively.
Turner finished with 19 points for the Buckeyes, sophomore guard William Buford had 17, and junior swingman David Lighty scored 15 points before fouling out with 3:53 left in the game.
“It was a very hard fought game and a very good win for us,” said Minnesota coach Tubby Smith after the game. “Our guys showed a lot of toughness down the stretch and made shots. There are some areas that we need to improve in time and scoring and game situations. We had comfortable lead and then turn the ball over, we had two time where we should have been a little bit stronger and physical with the ball.”