Buckeyes survive Villanova for 5th place

Published 12:00 am Thursday, November 27, 2003

LAHAINA, Hawaii - Tony Stockman scored 23 points, including Ohio State's only field goal over the final 5 1/2 minutes, and the Buckeyes held off undermanned Villanova 67-66 Wednesday in the Maui Invitational's fifth-place game.

Stockman, a transfer from Clemson, had 17 points in the first half, when the Buckeyes (2-2) took a 39-24 lead.

Villanova (3-2), which used just six players for the third game in as many days, got within 64-57 with 2:24 to play behind the backcourt of Randy Foye and Allan Ray.

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Foye's three-point play and Michael Nardi's 3-pointer had the Wildcats within 64-63 with about 1 1/2 minutes left.

Ohio State turned the ball over with 50 seconds left, and Foye was fouled four seconds later. He missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Stockman then drove untouched through all five Villanova players for a layup that made it 66-63 with 32 seconds to go.

Foye missed a 3-point attempt with 15 seconds remaining, and Villanova's Will Sheridan was unable to convert the rebound. Brandon Fuss-Cheatem made one free throw with 9.2 seconds left, and Nardi hit a 3 at the buzzer for the final score.

Terence Dials had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes, who shot 54.3 percent for the game but were just 13-for-23 from the free-throw line.

Ray had 21 points, and Foye had 18 points and eight assists for the Wildcats. Villanova was without two injured starters and another player was serving the final game of a suspension from last season for unauthorized use of a university telephone access code.

Villanova lost 52-49 in the tournament opener to Chaminade, the Division II host school. The Silverswords had lost their last 30 games in the tournament. Four Wildcats played at least 39 minutes Wednesday, and Chris Charles played 35 before fouling out.

Ohio State lost 83-61 to San Diego State in its opener.