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BOX SCORE
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Utah State's first NCAA Tournament
victory since 1970 was a year in the making.
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Tue, May
2
No. 12 Utah State beat fifth-seeded Ohio State thanks to a good job with the zone
defense. Ohio State didn't get Ken Johnson enough chances to score. The Buckeyes also
suffered through Turnover City, and that was costly.
Give Utah State's Troy Brown credit for hitting the jumper over Johnson, the Big Ten's
top shot blocker, which sent the game to overtime. Bernard Rock took over the game
and was a difference-maker.
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After leaving ashamed following a first-round loss last season,
the 12th-seeded Aggies beat Ohio State 77-68 in overtime Thursday
in one of the biggest opening-day upsets.
"The first time you go to the tournament you are in awe and you
don't know how to handle it," said Tony Brown, who scored 17
points, including the game-tying jumper with 1.8 seconds to play in
regulation in the East Regional.
"You go there the first year to get over all the nervousness
and excitement, then hope you get a second chance to go back."
The Big West Conference team was in awe of Connecticut last year
in a 75-67 loss.
"They were not content to have lost by only eight points to the
defending national champions and felt like the magnitude of the
event got the best of them," coach Stew Morrill said. "This whole
season has been about getting back here and getting another
chance."
Curtis Bobb scored eight of his 14 points in overtime to help
the Aggies (28-5) knock fifth-seeded Ohio State out in the first
round for the first time since 1982.
"It's obviously a disappointing loss for us," Ohio State coach
Jim O'Brien said. "But you've got to give a world of credit to
those guys. In my mind, they were the better team."
Bernard Rock scored 18 points to lead Utah State, which will
play UCLA in the second round. The Bruins beat Hofstra 61-48.
|  | | Dimitri Jorssen and the Aggies ended a nine-game tournament losing streak with their upset of Ohio State on Thursday. |
The Aggies also were quicker and more aggressive than Ohio State
(20-11). They allowed just five turnovers and forced 21 turnovers, including 12 steals.
Utah State also shut down Ken Johnson, Ohio State's
shot-blocking center, in the second half. Johnson had only six
points – all on free throws – and one block after halftime. He
finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
"We never felt like Ohio State was the better team and always
believed we could beat them," said Dimitri Jorssen, who guarded
Johnson most of the day.
"I hope this puts us on the map and gets people to go to our
web site because we proved we can play with the top teams."
Bobb, who was scoreless until hitting a 3-pointer with five
minutes to play in the second half, scored seven straight points in
overtime to give the Aggies control.
He put Utah State up 62-61 with a short jumper, then scored on a
putback that drew a foul. He made the free throw, giving the Aggies
a 65-62 lead.
Ohio State missed its next attempt, but was called for traveling
on the rebound, giving the Buckeyes the ball back.
Bobb then settled down his teammates, yelling, "Don't worry, we
got it! We got this game!"
He proved it on the next possession, when Shawn Daniels came up
with a steal and tossed it in to Bobb for a dunk and a 67-62 Utah
State lead.
"We got the traveling call and I saw some heads go down and
some yelling and I just wanted them to know that we could only lose
the game, they couldn't beat us," Bobb said. "We had to stay
together or else Ohio State could take the game."
Ohio State then gave up the ball on passes or off-balance, risky
shots.
The Buckeyes got 3-pointers from Brian Brown and Sean Connolly,
but they had to foul after every possession and Utah State was
8-of-12 from the line in the 2:08 of the game.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Utah State Clubhouse
Ohio State Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Utah State coach Stew Morrill told his team that this year's 5-12 upset might as well be them.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Tony Brown describes the emotion of attempting the game-winning shot in the lane.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien on the Buckeyes' inability to stop Utah State.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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