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Bye-Bye Buckeyes

NEWARK, N.J. - It had all the characteristics of a heavyweight championship fight - terrific individual matchups, gritty defense, physical play underneath that wasn't for the faint of heart.

NEWARK, N.J. - It had all the characteristics of a heavyweight championship fight - terrific individual matchups, gritty defense, physical play underneath that wasn't for the faint of heart.

Ohio State, the overall No. 1 seed, and young but talented Kentucky went at it for 40 minutes Friday night in the semifinals of the NCAA East Regional at the Prudential Center, with the lead changing hands, it seemed, every time you blinked your eyes.

But in the end, it was Brandon Knight who knocked down the game-winner, a 15-footer from the right wing with 5.4 seconds to play, to give the fourth-seeded Wildcats a 62-60 victory and a berth in Sunday's regional championship game against No. 2 North Carolina.

The Tar Heels had a relatively easy time of it in the opening semifinal, knocking out No. 11 Marquette, 81-63.

For the Buckeyes (34-3), whose nine-game winning streak ended, it was amazing that they were still in the game the way they shot from the field. They finished with a 32.8 percent figure.

Even so, Jon Diebler hit their biggest basket of the game, a three-pointer from behind the free-throw circle with 21.2 seconds to play to tie the game at 60.

Wildcats coach John Calipari shunned a timeout and put the game in the hands of Knight, one of three freshman starters. Knight advanced toward the basket and fired over Aaron Craft, with the shot hitting nothing but net.

The Buckeyes scrambled to get the tie or the win, but William Buford, who finished the game only 2 of 16 from the field, missed a three-point shot from the left wing. Kentucky (28-8) tipped the rebound out to midcourt and then celebrated.

The game probably marked the end of the short but spectacular career of Ohio State freshman Jared Sullinger, who had 21 points and 16 rebounds. The 6-foot-9, 280-pound Sullinger and the Wildcats' 6-11, 270-pound Josh Harrellson (17 points, 10 rebounds) were locked in a physical struggle all night.

Sullinger's work on the offensive glass - he grabbed eight of his rebounds there - was a big reason Ohio State stayed in the game. The Buckeyes held a 21-4 advantage on second-chance points.

Knight finished with nine points and four assists, with six turnovers.

The lead changed hands 19 times, 11 of them in the second half when the largest margin was four, by Ohio State in the opening minute and a half.

Kentucky's largest lead was three, and that didn't come until Knight knocked down a three-pointer with 5 minutes, 15 seconds remaining for a 56-53 lead.

The Buckeyes scored the next two baskets - a follow-up by Sullinger and a drive by David Lighty - to get the lead back, 57-56, with 2:10 to play.

But DeAndre Liggins, who scored 15 points, accounted for the next four - a pair of free throws after Sullinger committed his fourth foul - and a short bank shot over Craft - to put Kentucky up, 60-57, with 36.2 seconds to play.

The teams were tied, 30-30, at the half. The Buckeyes shot just 30.8 percent from the field but outscored the Wildcats by 12-4 at the free-throw line and by 8-2 on second-chance points. Sullinger had 10 points and seven rebounds at the break.

The Wildcats shot 44.4 percent in the opening 20 minutes, getting 12 points and seven rebounds from Harrellson.

Ohio State's cold shooting continued in the second half because the Wildcats sagged into the paint to stop its inside game and double-teamed Sullinger. The Buckeyes made four of their first 18 shots, with three of their baskets coming from deep.

Even though the lid was on their basket, the Buckeyes hung in, trailing by 44-43 when Sullinger made his first of back-to-back dunks with a little less than 10 minutes to play. And that's pretty much how it went the entire way.