It was the substitutes’ turn to step into the spotlight for No. 3 Ohio State.
Amedeo Della Valle had 15 points, Marc Loving scored a career-high 13 and the bench provided 38 points as the Buckeyes sprinted past Nebraska 84-53 on Saturday.
“We just try to bring a lot of energy,” said Loving, a freshman forward. “We feel like our energy off the bench can affect the game in a major way, whether it’s scoring or rebounding or, like today, Amedeo had a lot of deflections on defense. That added a little extra spark to the game and really got us going.”
Coach Thad Matta has had several teams that he seldom relied on more than six or seven players. This year he has gone with nine players, all of whom have contributed.
“I like this group,” Matta said of his second unit. “Because the big thing that you want as a coach is guys to understand what they’re supposed to do when they go in. I think they saw today that maybe we weren’t as focused as we needed to be in a couple of areas and they brought that to the table.”
The starters also carried their end of the load.
LaQuinton Ross scored 11 points, including two critical 3-pointers as the Buckeyes (15-0, 2-0 Big Ten) pulled away early in the second half. Shannon Scott had 13 and Amir Williams chipped in with 10 points for Ohio State, which shot 54 percent from the field (27 of 50) and 47 percent on 3-pointers (9 of 19).
A blend of starters and bench players fueled a 7-0 run to close out the half that gave the Buckeyes a 10-point lead. After the lead had swelled, Nebraska (8-6, 0-2) failed to hit a field goal over the last 8 minutes.
Della Valle, a native of Italy, helped turn the tide in the final 100 seconds of the first half with a tip-in. He also made plays that led to turnovers as the Buckeyes pulled away.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
