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Badgers Survive Battle With Buckeyes
CHICAGO (AP) - Zach Morley scored a career-high 23 points, giving No. 23 Wisconsin the offensive punch it needed Friday night to finally beat Ohio State 60-49 in the Big Ten quarterfinals. The loss ends the Buckeyes (20-12) season due to a self-imposed postseason ban. Morley, who was 8-for-11 from the field on a series of moves, bailed the Badgers out. Terence Dials had 12 points and Matt Sylvester and J.J Sullinger 11 each for the Buckeyes, who didn't score in the final 2:59 after Sullinger's basket brought them to within 52-49. Ohio State shot just 34 percent against Wisconsin's scrappy defense. Trailing by 11 at the half, Ohio State started the second on a 10-2 spurt behind four points each from Dials and Sylvester to close to within three. Ohio State forged its second tie of the half at 39 on a layup by Je'Kel Foster before Morley hit a 3-pointer and another jumper and Wilkinson sank two free throws and banked in a shot to put the Badgers up 48-41. But Dials scored, Sullinger tipped in a miss and Tony Stockman made two free throws to make it 48-47 with 4:20 to play. Morley once again hit a jumper - this one popped up and then went in - to give the Badgers some breathing room. And after making a nice lob pass to Tucker for a basket, Morley banked in a shot with 1:52 left, starting the Badgers' closing run. Morley added two free throws and Tucker four points to finally put the Buckeyes away. Wisconsin took a 29-18 halftime lead, using 10 points from Morley, a 21-4 run and an aggressive defense.
But there would be no easy victory for the Badgers, who beat the Buckeyes twice in the regular season. The Badgers fell in an early 8-2 hole and then held Ohio State to one basket over the next seven minutes while using a 15-2 run to build a 17-10 lead. Sylvester scored to cut it to five, but then the Badgers took off again with eight straight points for a 13-point lead. Ohio State ran off six in a row before Tucker grabbed two straight offensive rebounds and scored, and Morley made a spinning move a basket in the closing seconds for the 11-point lead. |
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