Hoosiers drop heartbreaker in semifinals

INDIANAPOLIS -- Junior guard Rod Wilmont laid stomach-down on the Conseco Fieldhouse floor with his hands covering his eyes, as he cried after a failed attempt to win the game. \nWilmont's 16 points led IU in its 52-51 loss to Ohio State Saturday afternoon. The redshirt junior failed to connect on a short jump shot in the lane after rebounding a missed baseline jumper from senior forward Marco Killingsworth, who shot a season-worst 27 percent in a 10-point, 10-rebound outing. Wilmont's shot missed off the back of the rim with three seconds remaining, and Killingsworth's clanged out at the 14-second mark. \nThe Hoosiers (18-11) almost extended their five-game win streak to the championship round, but were halted by Matt Sylvester. The OSU forward found himself open near the baseline after two IU defenders helped on Terence Dials. Dials dished the ball left to Sylvester, who then made good on a drive bringing the score to 52-51 with 33 seconds remaining. \nSylvester would have normally been guarded by sophomore forward Robert Vaden, but Vaden went down with a tweaked ankle a few possessions earlier. IU coach Mike Davis called him day-to-day after the game. \n"As you get into these types of tournaments, it's about surviving and fortunately for us that's exactly what we did today," OSU coach Thad Matta said. \nJ.J. Sullinger led the Buckeyes (25-4) with 19 points and 13 rebounds. The senior scored 13 of the Bucks' initial second-half points to push them up 38-30 after a 26-25 halftime deficit. \n"He was the player of the game in my mind today," Sylvester said. \nOSU broke out to an 8-0 lead in the opening minutes, but IU countered with a 10-0 run fueled by two 3-pointers and a lay-up from Wilmont. \nThe Buckeyes started the second period in similar fashion. After a Killingsworth lay-up, they fired off nine unanswered points to put them up 34-28. The lead grew as big as nine, but IU countered with a 9-0 run to knot things up at 47-47. \n"We made a run and got every look we wanted down the stretch," Davis said. "This is definitely something for us to take with us into next week in the tournament." \nDials, the Big Ten Player of the Year, was held to 13 points and six rebounds. \nSenior guard Marshall Strickland put up his season average of 12, and junior guard Earl Calloway flirted with a triple-double on seven points, eight rebounds and six assists, committing only a single turnover. \n"(Calloway's) getting better game by game," Davis said. "I think next year he is going to be either a first-team or second-team all-league player." \nAfter the game, Davis spoke favorably about Wilmont. \n"He plays with his heart," Davis said. "There's no reason for him to feel bad about missing a shot. It's part of the game"