It was supposed to be a test against an NCAA tournament-caliber team, but it turned into anything but.
High Point was supposed to challenge 12th-ranked Ohio State on Wednesday night at the Schottenstein Center, but when all was said and done the Buckeyes cruised to an easy 97-43 victory.
| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| HIGH POINT | 23 | 20 | 43 |
| OHIO STATE | 43 | 54 | 97 |
Ohio State put five players in double figures, led by Kam Williams' career-high 23 points. The redshirt freshman from Baltimore hit 8 of his 10 attempts from the field and was 4 for 5 from downtown. D'Angelo Russell added 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Shannon Scott scored 11 and dished out seven dimes. Jae'Sean Tate finished with 12 points and Sam Thompson added 10 for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State was in command from the get-go, leading 43-24 at halftime behind 13 first-half points from Williams, 11 from Russell and nine from Thompson. Williams actually scored 13 straight points for the Buckeyes in the opening 20 minutes.
Ohio State shot 63 percent from the field in the game and hit 8 of its 13 attempts from 3-point range. The Buckeyes' defense was solid all night, too, forcing 16 High Point turnovers and limiting the Panthers to just 32 percent shooting from the floor.
Ohio State's next game will take place Saturday when it hosts Morehead State at 1 p.m. at the Schottenstein Center.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | HIGH POINT |
|---|---|---|
| 97 | POINTS | 43 |
| 35-56 (62.5) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 18-56 (32.1) |
| 8-13 (61.5) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 4-20 (20.0) |
| 19-28 (67.9) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 3-7 (42.9) |
| 13 | TURNOVERS | 16 |
| 47 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 20 |
| 13 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 7 |
| 34 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 13 |
| 51 | BENCH POINTS | 11 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 2 |
| 10 | STEALS | 5 |
| 19 | ASSISTS | 11 |
| 26 | PTS OFF TURNOVERS | 12 |
| 19 | FAST-BREAK POINTS | 4 |
| 16 | SECOND-CHANCE POINTS | 4 |
| 42 | POINTS IN PAINT | 24 |
- Five players scored in double figures for the Buckeyes. It's the fourth time this season Ohio State has had five ore more players score 10-plus points.
- All 10 Buckeyes who saw game action scored, collected at least one rebound and played 14 or more minutes.
- High Point shot just 32.1 percent from the field. It marked the second time this season Ohio State held its opponent to under 35 percent from the floor.
- Ohio State shot a season-high 62.5 percent (8 for 13) from behind the 3-point line.
- Ohio State scored a season-high 51 bench points against High Point. The last time the Buckeyes scored over 40 bench points was against North Carolina A&T in 2010.
- D'Angelo Russell scored 18 points for Ohio State and his nine rebounds tied a career-high. Russell is No. 2 nationally amongst freshman scorers and has scored in double figures in seven of the eight games this season.
- Ohio State is 100-1 in the last 101 games against unranked opponents at Value City Arena.
