PORTLAND, Ore. -- The game had already been decided, but Sam Thompson refused to stop attacking the rim. Fighting against the clock, the senior tried to score as many baskets as he could before his Ohio State career ended.
Thompson finished with a team-high 18 points by the time No. 2 Arizona finished No. 10 Ohio State's season with a 73-58 win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Shannon Scott had 10 points. Amir Williams made some energy plays. Trey McDonald provided some valuable minutes off the bench.
The entire season those four seniors were criticised for not doing enough. Scott played too fast and had a hard time shooting and finishing around the rim, Thompson was far too inconsistent offensively, Williams got pushed around in the paint too easily and McDonald never really came into his own.
But in their final game, those four players did enough.
"I thought those guys played, man," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. You guys know, I kind of put it on them here in the last couple weeks of the season. I thought they did a great job of responding.
"The biggest thing, as I told them today, is that they have represented this university for four years with great class and I am very proud of them for all they've done for us."
By this point in the season, players are who they are. Being in the NCAA Tournament wasn't going to turn them into new players. All four of them were role players, and against the Wildcats, they all played their roles.