Ohio State Buckeyes-Cal Bears: OSU Rebounds with Impressive Win, 76-70

Ohio State bounced back after a scrappy performance against North Carolina last night by defeating No. 12 California, 76-70. The Buckeyes dominated the paint, something they couldn’t do last night, on their way to a win in Madison Square Garden.

Dallas Lauderdale was the catalyst for this defensive performance with eight points, five rebounds, and a career-high seven blocks. Evan Turner once again put on a clinic with another double-double. He had 26 points and 14 rebounds, along with six assists.

Last night he had 10 turnovers in a frustrating performance for the Buckeye guard; tonight he held it to four, all of which were in the second half.

The Buckeyes' starters did their part of the scoring tonight. Jon Diebler had 14 points, most of which were from his improved three-point shooting. William Buford had 12, and David Lighty added 11 for a Buckeye team that found its shooting touch after a poor performance last night.

Ohio State shot 50 percent from the field, including 40 percent from behind the arc. This was the first time this season they were out-rebounded and won, as the California Bears won the battle of the boards 33-29.

California played tough in the second half but dug too deep of a hole in the first half to climb out. Going into the half, the Bears were down 38-25.

Jerome Randle led the charge for the Bears with 26 points, going 6-of-12 from three-point range. Patrick Christopher chipped in 12 and Jamal Boykin and Omondi Amoke each added 11.

California shot 40 percent from the field, and was a respectable 43 percent from three. The Bears outscored the Buckeyes 45-38 in the second half but it was too late to overcome the damage from the first half.

Ohio State (3-1) will face Lipscomb (0-3) on Tuesday in what should be another home win for the Buckeyes. They still have several difficult non-conference games including Florida State and Butler before conference play starts.