ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Kam Williams came off a drag screen, caught the ball in rhythm from C.J. Jackson, rose and fired.
As the ball tumbled from the rafters in Navy Alumni Hall, it barely trickled the net on its way through the hoop for three of the junior guard's career-high 23 points.
Ohio State needed his spark off the bench in every way as it held off Navy 78-68 to win its season opener as part of the Veterans Classic.
“I was just taking what the defense was giving me,” Williams said after. “I’ve been putting the work in all summer. They were just pressing and playing off, so I was just letting it fly.”
Williams did that often on Friday night at the Naval Academy and only missed two shots the entire game. He nailed 5-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc and all four of his free throws, acting as a catalyst for Ohio State's outside shooting barrage to help the Buckeyes overcome a sluggish start to down the Midshipmen.
“I was very pleased with how we finished the game out. Obviously, 17 turnovers is unacceptable in terms of guys trying to catch with one hand, a one hand pass here and there. Those are things that we’ve got to get corrected.”– Thad Matta
“Our strategy was to try and make them beat us from the perimeter and they did,” Navy head coach Ed DeChellis said. “Williams came off the bench, we knew he could shoot. He had a great night for them making threes.”
The Buckeyes made 10-of-18 attempts from 3, and timely shots from Williams plus steals and run-outs ignited a surge that turned a tie game early in the second half into a double-digit Ohio State lead. At one point down the stretch, the Buckeyes made 9-of-11 field goal attempts. But they did not fully seize control until they led by 18 points with inside of 9 minutes remaining.
“I was very pleased with how we finished the game out,” head coach Thad Matta said. “Obviously, 17 turnovers is unacceptable in terms of guys trying to catch with one hand, a one hand pass here and there. Those are things that we’ve got to get corrected.”
Despite the high turnover number, the Buckeyes assisted on 20 of their 27 made field goals and shot 57 percent. And yet Navy at times out-worked Ohio State, outscoring them 30-22 in the paint and grabbing 13 offensive rebounds which led to 14 second-chance points.
Ohio State took a 33-28 lead into halftime, riding Keita Bates-Diop's 14 points and 6-of-8 shooting to grab some form of control despite committing 14 fouls in the opening 20 minutes.
“I think it was first game jitters, possibly,” Bates-Diop said of the inconsistent start. “Obviously in the second half, we picked it up. That’s how we need to play all year with the energy and play hard like that.”
Matta said he stressed not fouling as much at intermission and it worked somewhat as Ohio State only did nine times in the final 20 minutes. Sophomore junior college transfer C.J. Jackson provided a huge lift off the bench along with Williams, making all four of his free throws in the final 4 minutes to help seal the win and dishing out a game-high nine assists and even snatching six rebounds.
“I think he’s a little energizer bunny,” Williams said of Jackson. “You know, he’s all over the place, super quick, active hands. He gets so many deflections for us and it just ignited us in the second half and that’s what we needed.”
Matta kept Jackson on the floor for the final 17:34 in place of starting point guard JaQuan Lyle, who only totaled 13 minutes and scored three points. Matta rode the hot hand in Jackson but knows his team won't be at its best without Lyle playing the way he is capable.
“Quan was really, really struggling on the defensive end of the floor. He was trying to make some home run plays,” Matta said. “C.J. just kept the ball moving.
Navy saw this face often on Friday night.
“The old saying, playing better is an option. Obviously, we need him, JaQuan to play his best basketball,” Matta continued. “I think from the standpoint of tonight what we needed, C.J. was able to get that going for us.”
Jackson's terrific outing in his first game as a Buckeye paired with Williams' hot shooting and Bates-Diop's consistency (14 rebounds to go with his 14 points) was enough to shove Navy aside and start 1-0. Trevor Thompson also provided a spark off the bench with 11 points and five boards.
But issues like protecting the ball, making free throws—Ohio State finished 14-of-21 from the stripe but missed 7 of its first 11 attempts—and using defense to create offense remain.
Above all, though, Matta's team started the season in the win column.
“I think that's something that we're continuing to try and get our guys to understand: If we trust the system on defense, with some of the length that we have, with some of the athleticism that we have, we think that we can generate some offense off that,” Matta said. “That's something this team is going to need. If you can couple with that with taking better care of the basketball you're going to be a lot more efficient offensively.”
