The Athenaeum Forum

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It wasnt like North Dakota State could sneak up on No. 3 Ohio State. After watching film of the Bison pull off a huge upset at Notre Dame on Wednesday night, there was no way the Buckeyes were going to be on anything but high alert. LaQuinton Ross and Lenzelle Smith Jr. each scored 18 points and the Buckeyes never trailed in rolling over NDSU 79-62 Saturday night. "I said it after the game on Wednesday, so much for tip-toeing into Ohio State," NDSU coach Saul Phillips said. "We kind of clomped in here with big old (size) 16s on and they clocked us pretty good." The Buckeyes (9-0) continued their hot shooting. They made 53 per cent from the field, pushing them over 50 per cent for the fifth game in a row. Freshman Mark Loving had a career-high 12 points, and Sam Thompson also had 12. Aaron Craft added six points and seven assists -- setting a school record for career assists with 581 for the Buckeyes. Asked if the Buckeyes got a good look at what the Bison had done to the Fighting Irish, Craft said theyd watched the video like they were film critics. "Absolutely," he said. "Probably the best thing for us was that they beat Notre Dame and that really got our attention. Not that we try to really overlook anyone, but we got to sit down and see them play at their best. And we wanted to come out and play our best." The game was part of the BlackRock Gotham Classic. Taylor Braun led the Bison (7-4) with 21 points, while Marshall Bjorklund had 12 and Lawrence Alexander 10. NDSU shot 42 per cent from the field and was outrebounded 36-26. The Bison were coming off a 73-69 victory at Notre Dame, the programs first win against an ACC team. That win came against a Fighting Irish squad that was 124-10 at home over the last six-plus seasons. "They had some really big guys that can get up and that altered some shots inside," Braun said. "I dont think we expected them to shoot as well as they did from the 3-point line. That was a real difference in the game." The Buckeyes were 6 for 11 behind the arc in the first half and finished 10 of 20. The threat of hitting outside shots opened up things underneath. Down by as many as 19 points against the Buckeyes, the Bison went on a 7-2 run to pull within 14 midway through the second half. But Craft, who also had four steals and four rebounds, came up with a loose ball and fed Thompson, who was thrown to the floor by Bjorklund. Thompson hit both free throws after the flagrant foul, and then on the resulting possession, Craft lobbed an alley-oop to Thompson for a dunk that brought the crowd to its feet. Loving then hit back-to-back 3s and the lead was back up to 65-43 with 8 1/2 minutes left. "I was up all night a couple of nights ago trying to find a weakness," Phillips said. "And then I realized they really dont have a lot (of them)." The Bison were playing a ranked Division I opponent for only the seventh time. Theyve lost the last five since beating No. 13 Wisconsin and No. 9 Marquette in 2006. Ohio State built a 41-28 lead at the break. Ross overcame a sluggish start with 13 points while Smith had 10. The Buckeyes closed the first half with a 7-0 burst. Ross got a pass from Craft and buried a 3. After a Bison miss, Thompson hit a foul shot. Off another miss, Craft drove the lane and then twisted to fire a pass from underneath the basket to Thompson in the left corner. He put up a 3 that caught only net with 1.7 seconds left. That final pass tied Craft with Jamar Butler for the career record at Ohio State with 579 assists. Then on the Buckeyes first possession of the second half, Craft found Ross all alone under the basket for the record-breaker and a 43-28 lead. "Ever since Ive been here Ive had the easy job," the senior point guard said. "Ive played with a lot of great players, a lot of great shooters, who have done the hard part. I just have to find those guys and put them in a great opportunity to score. Ill have a lot of time to think about (this) when I get older. By the time Im a grandfather, itll probably be about 800 assists in my career." Ohio State cant move up in the coaches poll on Phillips ballot. "You know, in the coaches poll they only had one first-place vote. Guess who that first-place vote was," he said. "And that didnt change my mind tonight." Malik Beasley Jersey . Forward Iker Muniain scored the winner in the 70th minute after Bilbaos incessant pressure recovered the ball and sparked a counterattack inside Barcelonas half. Neymar was once again tagged to pick up Messis goal-scoring duties, but when he wasnt frustrated by slippery footing Bilbaos defence got the better of him. 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The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Conley poured in a career-high 36 points with nine assists and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the lowly Philadelphia 76ers, 120-115, on Saturday. Memphis, which won its fourth straight game, came out sluggish after winning a double-overtime contest in Charlotte on Friday and arriving in Philadelphia early Saturday morning. The Grizzlies can thank Conley, who scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and tied the game with a desperation heave as the buzzer sounded in regulation. Im going to do whatever it takes to will my team, get my guys going as well and give ourselves a chance to win, Conley said. Zach Randolph contributed 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Courtney Lee and Marc Gasol added 19 and 18 points, respectively, in the win. A night after tying a season-low point total in an 88-70 loss to Brooklyn, the Sixers made one field goal over the final 6:37 of the fourth quarter, then converted just one basket in the extra session. Michael Carter-Williams was a bright spot for Philadelphia, although he committed three of his teams six turnovers in the fourth-quarter collapse. Carter-Williams registered his fourth career triple-double with 16 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Robert Covington paced the Sixers with 24 points and Hollis Thompson tied a career high with 21 points in their third straight loss. That is a very cruel loss, Sixers coach Brett Brown said. Ive just seen the end of the game, there are not many regrets. Its a cruel loss for a bunch of young guys that put themselves in a position to get an incredible win. Conley opened the overtime period with a layup before Randolph converted a three-point play that made it 114-109 less than two minutes in. Covington thenn hit three free throws as the only form of offense for Philadelphia over the next two-plus minutes that trimmed the deficit to four, but Conleys 3-pointer with 23.dddddddddddd9 seconds left sealed the win for Memphis. Philadelphia brought a 12-point advantage into the fourth quarter and led 95-77 with 7:39 to go in regulation after a Tony Wroten layup. Memphis wouldnt go away, though, as Randolph scored five straight points before Courtney Lee capped a 15-3 run that trimmed the Grizzlies deficit to 98-92 with 4:41 left. Covington quelled the surge, however, with four consecutive free throws to push the lead back to double digits. Conley brought the pesky Memphis team back within five after a 3-pointer, then Covington hit two more free throws. Nerlens Noel defended the rim at the other end with a block of Conley, and Carter-Williams split a pair of free throws for a 105-97 margin with 1:54 to play. Beno Udrih and Conley hit back-to-back 3s prior to Carter-Williams offensive foul. Conley followed with a layup to cut the margin to 107-106. After the Sixers nearly turned it over again on numerous occasions, Thompson converted two clutch free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining. Out of a timeout, Gasol found Conley from the top of the key and the latter converted a running 3-pointer to send it to overtime. Philadelphia led 28-21 after 12 minutes and went up by 11 late in the second before the Grizzlies closed to within seven, 50-43, at the half. Game Notes Sixers rookie guard K.J. McDaniels missed the contest with an ankle injury ... Memphis has won five straight in Philadelphia ... Wroten scored 17 points off the Philadelphia bench ... The Grizzlies made eight of their 11 3s in the fourth ... 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