No. 13 seed Ohio beats USF 62-56 in NCAA tourney

By Beth Rucker

Associated Press

Published: Sunday, March 18 2012 7:40 p.m. MDT

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Ohio guard D.J. Cooper (5) gets tangled with South Florida guard Anthony Collins (11) in the first half of a third-round NCAA men's college basketball tournament game Sunday, March 18, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn.

Donn Jones, Associated Press

Summary

Walter Offutt scored 21 points, D.J. Cooper had 19 and No. 13 seed Ohio beat South Florida 62-56 on Sunday night to advance to the NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional semifinals.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Walter Offutt scored 21 points, D.J. Cooper had 19 and No. 13 seed Ohio beat South Florida 62-56 on Sunday night to advance to the NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional semifinals.

The Bobcats (29-7) will play No. 1 seed North Carolina in their second trip to the regional semifinals.

Ohio trailed by two when Offutt swished a 3-pointer, launching a 10-0 run for the Bobcats. A pair of free throws by Cooper made it 54-46 with 3:28 left.

The Bobcats had a 59-53 lead when Toarlyn Fitzpatrick connected for South Florida's first 3-pointer of the half. But Cooper went 3 for 4 from the line while the Bulls missed three shots in the final 36 seconds.

Victor Rudd Jr. and Anthony Collins both scored 13 points for the Bulls (22-14).

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