COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Ohio State coach Thad Matta pushed the right buttons during and after halftime to help his Buckeyes rally for a 71-63 win over Northwestern on Tuesday night. The Buckeyes trailed for most of the night but used a 15-2 run to erase a nine-point deficit and take the lead with six minutes to go in the second half. A move to a full-court press keyed Ohio State’s surge, but so did something Matta told his team at halftime with Northwestern leading 71-63. ”I feel like the biggest thing was we just had to wake up,” said Trevor Thompson, who scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Buckeyes. ”Coach said we have to lose ourselves in playing for Ohio State and lose ourselves as a team. I feel like in the second half we did a really good job of having fun and enjoying ourselves and playing as a team.” That’s a message Matta has tried to get across since he arrived in Columbus 12 years ago. ”When you lose yourself in just playing the game of basketball and whatever happens happens, we’re a lot better basketball team,” Matta said. ”I was very animated at halftime in terms of that. Just play the game. You guys work so hard in practice. This is the fun time, where you get the rewards to it. Fortunately we stuck with it and were able to finish it out.” Thompson was one of five Buckeyes (15-10, 7-5) to score in double figures. Jaquan Lyle led all scorers with 16 points while Marc Loving had 15, Keita Bates-Diop had 11 and Jae’Sean Tate tallied 10. …
Continue Reading: Ohio State rallies for 71-63 win over Northwestern
