The Ohio State men’s basketball team beat Eastern Michigan 111-60 Saturday to move to 7-1 on the season.
The outcome of the game quickly became secondary, however, after junior guard Evan Turner left the game with an apparent back injury just seven minutes into the game.
Turner, who leads the Buckeyes in nearly every statistical category, was fouled on a dunk attempt and fell hard to the floor directly on his upper back. The Schottenstein Center crowd went silent as the medical staff attended to Turner, who eventually left under his own power before he was taken to the OSU Medical Center for precautionary x-rays.
“It got pretty quit in the gym,” junior guard Jon Diebler said. “It got really quiet.”
Reports after the game were that the x-rays were negative, but he will undergo a CT scan to check for any further injury.
“Everything looked good in the x-ray,” coach Thad Matta said. “At this point I’m pretty optimistic he’s going to be OK.”
Senior P.J. Hill, who had been struggling to gain playing time, scored a career-high 18 points on 6-7 shooting as a replacement for Turner.
“I want to do whatever is best for the team,” Hill said. “I know whenever my opportunity arises just to take full advantage of it.”
Junior guard Jon Diebler added 21 points including six three-pointers.
“Tonight showed how versatile we are, Diebler said. “When a guy like Evan goes out, it forces everyone to step up their game because Evan does so much for this basketball team both offensively and defensively.”
As for Turner, Diebler is confident he’ll be fine.
“It was good to see him up and walking,” Diebler said. “Evan is a tough kid. I know he’s going to do what he has to do to get healthy.”
