Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Ohio State
Strickland's Late Game Heroics Push Hoosiers Past Buckeyes
1/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2006
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BLOOMIGNTON, Ind. - Marshall Strickland sank a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the No. 16/15 Indiana men's basketball team over No. 18/18 Ohio State, 81-79, on Jan. 7 at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers now hold a 10-2 record and a 2-0 mark in the Big Ten, while the Buckeyes drop their first contest of the year and sit at 11-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Strickland dominated the final 25 seconds, tying up J.J. Sullinger after he rebounded a missed jumper by Terence Dials with the score tied at 79. The possession arrow favored IU, setting up Strickland's heroics. Strickland drew a foul on Dials and calmly went to the line and touched nothing but the bottom of the net on both free throws. OSU had one more opportunity to pull out the victory, but Strickland stripped Matt Terwilliger as he went up for a three-pointer just before the buzzer sounded.
Indiana finished with five players in double figures, led by Marco Killingsworth. The senior forward accounted for 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go along with 7-of-9 from the foul line.
Strickland added 15 points, while senior point guard Lewis Monroe posted 11 points, six assists and three rebounds. Junior guard Roderick Wilmont also poured in 11 points with sophomore wing Robert Vaden contributing 10 points.
Dials finished the afternoon with 25 points and eight rebounds, while Je'Kel Foster (8 rebounds) and Ron Lewis each added 13 points for the Buckeyes.
The score sat at 70-70 before a back-and-forth flurry to the finish, featuring two ties and seven lead changes in the final 5:58. Dials gave Ohio State its last lead at 79-78 with 1:50 left, but Monroe split a pair of free throws to even the contest at 79-79 with 29 seconds remaining.
Leading 38-21 at the 3:54 mark in the first half, OSU had firm control of the contest. However, Wilmont sparked an 11-2 IU run to close out the stanza. Wilmont started a nine-point scurry with five points, and sophomore guard A.J. Ratliff ended the stretch with a pair of free throws to move IU within striking distance heading into the second 20 minutes.
The Hoosiers continued the onslaught in the opening minutes of the second half with Vaden nailing his first trey of the game, and Strickland knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Buckeye lead to 44-43.
After a Jamar Butler free throw gave OSU a two-point lead, Killingsworth drove hard to the hoop and converted a three-point play to give IU its first lead of the afternoon at 46-45 with 17:11 left in the contest.
Killingsworth's three-point conversion capped a 25-7 run that erased a 17-point deficit and covered 6:43. It marked the first time since March 21, 2002 against then-No. 1 Duke that IU overcame a deficit of 17 points. The Hoosiers tailed by 17 in the opening half against Duke before winning, 74-73, in the regional semifinal of the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
A string of three-pointers followed with Foster sinking a pair and J.J. Sullinger adding one for the Buckeyes, and Strickland and Monroe each knocking one down for the Hoosiers to make it 56-55 at the 12:06 mark.
OSU responded with a quick 7-2 burst to go ahead 63-57, but IU stormed back once again. A three-pointer from Monroe put IU ahead 66-64 and Killingsworth's two free throws ended a 11-1 Hoosier spurt and gave Indiana a 68-64 lead with 7:31 left.
Overall, there were five ties and nine lead changes in the game. Both teams shot well from the floor as Indiana torched the nylon in the second half at a 65 percent clip (13-of-20) and 49 percent for the ballgame (25-of-51). The Buckeyes fired at 45.9 percent (28-of 61) but were just 14-of-21 from the charity stripe, while the Hoosiers hit 21-of-29 from the line.
Ohio State jumped out to 7-0 and 11-3 leads and never trailed the entire first half to enter the break with a 40-32 advantage. Despite the slow start, the Hoosiers sliced their deficit to 16-14 at the 11:32 mark before the Buckeyes scored the next nine points to fuel a 22-7 run over the next 7:58.
In the opening period, OSU shot 48.4 percent from the floor on 15-of-31 shooting as Dials poured in 11 points and five rebounds. IU knocked down 12-of-31 for 38.7 percent with Killingsworth pacing the club with 11 points.
Indiana returns to the hardwood on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at No. 7 Michigan State with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN and also can be heard live on the IU Radio Network with Don Fischer (play-by-play), former Indiana guard Todd Leary (color commentary) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame host) calling the action.
