COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : Ohio State Outmuscles Georgia Tech : Midwest: Carter has 18 rebounds, scores 19 points and fifth-ranked Buckeyes hold on, 65-61, as Anderson turns cold. St. John’s also advances.
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DAYTON, Ohio — It was Perry Carter’s kind of game, and he took it over.
Carter grabbed 18 rebounds and scored 19 points as fifth-ranked Ohio State held off Georgia Tech, 65-61, Sunday in the second round of the Midwest Regional.
“Perry Carter loves a game when he can lean on somebody,” Ohio State Coach Randy Ayers said. “He rebounded the ball well. That’s our game plan, to use our quickness down inside and to make their inside guys run up and down the court.”
Ohio State (27-3) plays St. John’s in the regional semifinals Friday night at Pontiac, Mich.
The Buckeyes got 19 of their 24 baskets inside and outrebounded Georgia Tech, 50-44.
“Our whole game plan was to use my quickness, to beat them up and down the floor,” Carter said. “It worked because I was able to out-quick them for some easy baskets and rebounds.”
Ohio State led, 36-28, at halftime, thanks to a 26-18 edge in rebounding. The Buckeyes were ahead, 55-45, with 9:08 left before Georgia Tech (17-13) came back behind All-American Kenny Anderson.
Anderson scored 25 points, but he missed 20 of 28 shots from the field. When he got on track, scoring six consecutive points, the Yellow Jackets closed to 57-53 with 5:14 left.
“I got some wide-open shots,” Anderson said. “I had wide-open shots that I normally hit. They didn’t go in today.
“They did a great job on me. They knew where I was all the time. They picked me up coming off screens.”
After Jon Barry scored on a reverse layup with 3:38 left to cut Ohio State’s advantage to two, Mark Baker made a free throw for a 58-55 Buckeye lead.
Anderson sank the first of two free throws with 32 seconds remaining to make it 58-56. But he missed the next free throw, and the Yellow Jackets fouled Jamaal Brown, who made two free throws for a four-point lead.
Barry’s driving layup with 19 seconds left made it 60-58, but Jim Jackson, who scored 16 points, was fouled on the inbounds pass and made both free throws for Ohio State.
After Anderson missed a shot, Carter made two more free throws to clinch the victory.
“Once we got close, I was hoping maybe Kenny could win it for us,” Georgia Tech Coach Bobby Cremins said. “He just didn’t shoot with the confidence he normally does.
“They were tremendous on the boards.”
Cremins said Ohio State carried the additional burden of being favored and playing before a partisan crowd in its home state.
“When you’re the No. 1 seed you’ve got a lot of pressure,” he said. “Everybody expects them to win. I think that’s their problem. They have pressure to succeed. They need to go out and play and not worry about winning and losing.”
The Buckeyes made one of eight shots over the last 7:29 and sank only eight of 13 free throws. But Ohio State made seven of its last eight free throws.
St. John’s 84, Texas 76--The Redmen ended four years of NCAA tournament frustration by making 71% of their shots in the first half and wearing down Texas in the second half.
In their previous four NCAA tournament appearances since 1986, St. John’s (22-8) failed to make it past the first two rounds. The Redmen broke the slump with a game that showcased their patient, half-court offense.
Fifth-seeded Texas (23-9) tried tight man-to-man coverage, half-court traps, even an uncharacteristic full-court press. Nothing worked against the Redmen, who overwhelmed Texas with their balance and 61% shooting.
Billy Singleton score 21 points, one of five St. John’s players to hit double figures.
The Redmen had a 45-36 lead at intermission and Texas never caught up.
Joey Wright, the Longhorns’ leading scorer, received a cut under his right eye when he collided with Malik Sealy of St. John’s midway through the second half, forcing Wright out of the game for medical treatment for a minute.
He returned and after the injury scored 12 of his 32 points, including a 10-foot jump shot that cut it to 78-72 with 54 seconds left.
But St. John’s broke the Longhorns’ full-court press to set up a dunk by Sealy that clinched the victory.
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