Ohio State overcame a sluggish start and a short bench Saturday afternoon to blast William & Mary, 97-62, at Value City Arena.
The Buckeyes announced shortly before tip that they would be without the services of freshman forward Kyle Young, who suffered a sprained ankle in practice in the week leading up to the game.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| WILLIAM & MARY | 32 | 30 | 62 |
| OHIO STATE | 48 | 49 | 97 |
With Young and Micah Potter out, freshman forward Kaleb Wesson picked up the slack. The Westerville, Ohio native scored 13 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting in the first half alone, finishing with 17 points and seven boards for the game.
Keita Bates-Diop, who was forced to play more in the post against the Tribe, led the Buckeyes in scoring, pouring in a career-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | WILLIAM & MARY |
|---|---|---|
| 97 | POINTS | 62 |
| 33-54 (64.8%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 27-52 (51.9%) |
| 11-21 (52.4%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 5-16 (31.3%) |
| 16-23 (69.6%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 3-6 (50.0%) |
| 11 | TURNOVERS | 18 |
| 31 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 19 |
| 9 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 5 |
| 22 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 14 |
| 16 | BENCH POINTS | 18 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 1 |
| 7 | STEALS | 3 |
| 19 | ASSISTS | 13 |
While Ohio State coasted for most of the contest, the Buckeyes got off to a slow start defensively to open the game.
The opening minutes saw the lead change hands seven times. William & Mary took a 20-19 lead with a two-point jumper from Connor Burchfield with 12:28 to play in the first half. From there, however, Ohio State rattled off a 27-4 run that saw all but one Buckeye who played in that span score. The Buckeyes used that run to take a 48-32 lead into halftime, leading by as many as 22 in the first half.
Ohio State shot a scorching 69.2 percent from the floor in the opening frame, including 7-of-9 from the free throw line and 5-of-10 from behind the three-point arc.
The hot shooting continued in the second half for Ohio State, as the Buckeyes opened the final 20 minutes by converting on 10 of their first 11 shots, including a pair of three-pointers from senior guard Kam Williams. The Scarlet and Gray lead swelled to as many as 40 in the second half before the final buzzer sounded.
Head coach Chris Holtmann re-insterted point guard C.J. Jackson into the starting lineup after Jackson had come off the bench in Ohio State's previous two games. With Musa Jallow back to the bench, Jackson dropped in 16 points, dished out six assists and did not commit a turnover.
The Tribe, which entered the game shooting a blistering 47.3 percent from three-point range this season, finished the game 5-of-16 from deep against the Buckeyes. William & Mary was led by point guard David Cohn, who dropped in 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
The Buckeyes have a week off before returning to the court to face Appalachian State on Dec. 16 at Value City Arena, with tip set for 6 p.m.
