National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ohio St. 64, Minnesota 46
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 22, 2014
Where: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Officials: # Mike Sanzere, # Larry Scirotto, # Gene Steratore
Attendance: 18809

No. 23 Ohio State 64, Minnesota 46:
Sam Thompson scored 16 of his season-high 19 points in the second half as the host Buckeyes overcame a 12-point deficit to knock off the Gophers in Big Ten play.

Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 13 points and Shannon Scott scored 10 as the Buckeyes (22-6, 9-6) won for the sixth time in seven games. Aaron Craft contributed six points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals for Ohio State, which outscored the Golden Gophers 46-18 in the second half.

Andre Hollins scored 13 points and DeAndre Mathieu added 12 for Minnesota (17-11, 6-9). The Golden Gophers were 7-of-23 shooting with nine turnovers in the second half while losing for the sixth time in eight games.

The Buckeyes trailed 30-18 before exploding for 17 consecutive points over a stretch of more than six minutes to take a 35-30 lead. Thompson scored 10 straight Ohio State points to increase the advantage to 45-35 shortly before the midway point of the second half and he later scored on a dunk to boost the lead to 15 with 6 1/2 minutes to play as the Buckeyes continued to pull away.

Ohio State shot just 27.3 percent and committed eight turnovers in the first half and found itself trailing 28-18 at the break. Mathieu’s basket at the start of the second half pushed Minnesota’s lead to 12 before the Buckeyes seized control with the 17-0 run.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Buckeyes shot 56.7 percent from the field and had just three turnovers in the second half. … Minnesota recorded a season-low point total for the second consecutive game and is averaging just 49.7 points over the last three contests. … Craft raised his career steals count to 321, second in Big Ten history behind former Illinois standout Bruce Douglas (324 from 1982-86).
Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Ohio St.
Andre Hollins 13 Scoring Sam Thompson 19
Deandre Mathieu 3 Assists Aaron Craft 5
Elliott Eliason 4 Rebounds Aaron Craft 6
Andre Hollins 4 Free Throws Made Shannon Scott 4
Andre Hollins 1 Steals Aaron Craft 4
Elliott Eliason 1 Blocks Amir Williams 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Minnesota 46 35.4 4-17 8-8 7 23 1 2 13
Ohio St. 64 44.2 3-14 15-17 12 31 6 7 11