Tennessee 76, Ohio State 73: Chism Scores 18 In Second Half

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St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Wayne Chism scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half and Brian Williams tipped home the eventual game-winning basket with 32.1 seconds left, as Tennessee knocked off Ohio State, 76-73, in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament for its first-ever trip to the Elite Eight.

J.P. Prince scored 14 with six assists and came up with a block on Evan Turner’s last-ditch attempt at a game-tying three. Bobby Maze added 10 points and sank two clutch free throws with 12.9 seconds on the clock to make it a three-point game on OSU’s last possession.

Cameron Tatum had all 11 of his points in the first half for the sixth-seeded Volunteers (28-8), who will meet the survivor of the Northern Iowa/Michigan State matchup in the Midwest Regional final on Sunday.

Turner recorded 31 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the second- seeded Buckeyes (29-8), who were making their fifth appearance in the Sweet 16 and the school’s first since reaching the championship game in 2007.

William Buford chipped in 15 points and David Lighty nine with five assists. Jon Diebler, OSU’s third-leading scorer, couldn’t find his mark and ended 1-of-8 from the field for three points.

It was Ohio State that stopped Tennessee from advancing past the round of 16 three years ago, but some heady plays in the game’s final minutes allowed the Vols to deny history repeating itself.

The Vols strung together six straight points on an inside score by Chism, Melvin Goins’ jump shot and another Chism deuce to establish their largest lead of the game, 68-63, with under four minutes remaining.

Ohio State came back with the next seven points and gained a two-point edge on Lighty’s three-pointer with 2:16 to play.

Chism hit two at the line and turned a Prince steal into a 72-20 lead with a layup to leave 1:40 on the clock.

Turner then turned it back over to Tennessee, but Prince couldn’t get a short bank shot to go and Turner knocked down a huge three-pointer with nearly 42 seconds left for a 73-72 OSU lead.

The teams continued an end-to-end sprint, uninterrupted by timeouts, and Prince drove to the hoop for a missed shot that Williams tipped back in.

Turner then attempted to take it in himself from the top of the key, but rolled his layup off the right side of the rim. Kyle Madsen was there for the rebound, but Maze stole his attempt at an outlet pass from under the basket and hit two free throws for a three-point game and time enough for only one shot at a tying three.

Turner was isolated in the left corner and sent his shot off the front of the rim. He managed his own rebound and got it back out for a quick turnaround attempt from beyond the arc, but Prince was in position to get a hand on it as the clock rolled to all zeros.

The Volunteers had some issues taking care of the ball to open the second half, while Turner stepped up his game with the Buckeyes’ first nine points for a 51-45 edge more than five minutes in.

However, the OSU offense went south shortly thereafter, and Chism wound up making it a two-point game, 51-49, with his third consecutive basket in the paint.

Both teams hit a bit of a lull in offense approaching the halfway point before Turner extended Ohio State’s advantage to five with a three-point play, and then a jumper to answer a Tennessee score.

Chism, though, was the Vols’ go-to answer with back-to-back layups and Scotty Hopson converted a three-point play after driving the right baseline for a dunk to tie things at 59 with 7:20 to go. Prince did the same on Tennessee’s next touch for its first lead of the second half, 62-61.

Buford scored nine points in the first four minutes, staking the Buckeyes to an early 13-7 advantage, but the momentum quickly swung Tennessee’s way. Tatum accounted for half of the Vols’ 10-0 ensuing run and Maze cut to the hoop for a layup to make it 17-13 eight minutes in.

Jeremie Simmons stemmed the tide with a three and dropped in another just past the midway point to put OSU back up one.

Things went back and forth from there with sporadic scoring over the next several minutes before both sides ratcheted up the offense late in the half.

Josh Bone and Diebler traded threes nearing four minutes left with the game tied at 30.

Bone was off the mark on a second three-point bid moments later and Buford hit from long distance on the other end. The scoring barrage continued into the last possessions of the half as Simmons countered a Tatum three with one of his own and Turner followed with a jumper.

Maze had the final word with a layup just before the horn to keep Tennessee within three, 42-39.

OSU had won nine consecutive games and still own a 4-2 edge in the all-time series with Tennessee...Chism added 11 rebounds and Williams secured a game- best 12 caroms to pair with nine points...Tennessee outscored OSU 50-22 in the paint and held a 20-13 edge in offensive boards. That margin grew to 41-29 in overall rebounding...The Vols shot 46.9 percent from the field, compared with the Buckeyes connecting on 43.1 percent of their shots...Simmons wound up with nine points.