Buckeyes rally in second half

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Etienne Brower, left, of the University of Massachusetts dunks against Kyle Madsen of Ohio State during the National Invitation Tournament championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York Thursday. Ohio State won 92-85.

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Kosta Koufos, right, of Ohio State blocks Ricky Harris of the University of Massachusetts in the NIT championship game.

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University of Massachusetts forward Dante Milligan looks up at the clock after fouling out against Ohio State in the second half of the National Invitation Tournament championship game Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Ohio State won 92-85, preventing UMass from winning its first postseason championship.

NEW YORK - The second-half comeback went the wrong way for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team in the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament Thursday night.

Ohio State erased a 10-point first-half deficit to capture the NIT title 92-85 before 8,407 fans at Madison Square Garden.

Unlike previous opponents for UMass (25-11), the Buckeyes neither tired from the game's pace nor struggled against the Minutemen's pressure.

"You've got to give Ohio State credit. I thought a couple of times we had them," UMass coach Travis Ford said. "I thought our press and our style of play was going to kick in, but I thought we gave up a few too many easy layups and that allowed them to rest."

UMass made it to the final on the strength of back-to-back dominant second halves that featured impressive outside shooting and allowed the Minutemen to rally for wins over Syracuse and Florida.

But Ricky Harris was the only UMass player to get hot from 3-point range as he made three straight to keep the Minutemen in the game late. But UMass could not get enough stops on defense as the Buckeyes (24-13) held on.

After UMass fell behind 64-55 midway through the second half, Harris' 3-point barrage helped the Minutemen tie the game 68-68.

But Kosta Koufos hit a 3-pointer and that took back some momentum. With Dante Milligan out with foul trouble, Koufos was too much for UMass to handle. He had 21 of his 22 points in the second half and was named the tournament's most outstanding player..

UMass coach Travis Ford talks about the Minutemen's loss in the NIT final

Ohio State stretched its lead back to five before Harris' last 3-pointer made the score 77-75 with 3 minutes, 12 seconds left. But the Buckeyes scored seven of the next nine points to clinch the win.

Harris led the Minutemen with 27 points. All three UMass seniors reached double figures in their final college game. Etienne Brower had 17 points and 12 rebounds, Milligan scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds before fouling out and Gary Forbes added 16 points.

Evan Turner had 20 for Ohio State and Jamar Butler added 19.

As the Buckeyes celebrated and positioned a ladder to cut the net, many on the Minuteman bench were in tears.

Forbes and assistant coach Steve Middleton shared a long hug, while several players embraced around them.

Forbes said even without the title, the Minuteman senior class left its mark on UMass.

"We made a difference since I've been here," Forbes said. "A lot of fans have come out and supported us and this has been a great roll."

Ford said he was sad to see the season end.

"I'm just disappointed there's no practice tomorrow," Ford said. "I'm disappointed I can't coach these guys tomorrow. That's the thing that hit me right now because I have really, really enjoyed coaching this team.

"It's been a lot of fun," Ford added. "When you have fun and you have good kids success follows and that's what happened to UMass basketball this year."

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.