In front of a sold-out crowd in its first game at historic St. John Arena since 2010, Ohio State earned a decisive victory over Cleveland State on Friday night, defeating the visiting team 89-62 to improve to 6-0 on the young season.
Kaleb Wesson led the Buckeyes with 19 points, tying his career-high, while C.J. Jackson scored 17.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| #23 OHIO STATE (6-0) | 38 | 51 | 89 |
| CLEVELAND STATE (2-4) | 29 | 33 | 62 |
Wearing throwback uniforms that paid homage back to the days when Clark Kellogg was among the Buckeyes playing in St. John Arena, Ohio State opened the game on a 10-2 run, with Jackson scoring five of the Buckeyes' first seven points.
After the Buckeyes opened up a 20-10 lead, the Vikings went on a seven-point run to cut the home team's lead to three. From there, however, Ohio State went on an 13-4 run to reopen a double-digit lead before ultimately taking a 38-29 lead into halftime.
Jackson led the Buckeyes with 10 first-half points, while Wesson scored nine and Luther Muhammad and Kyle Young each scored six before the break.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | CLEVELAND STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 89 | POINTS | 62 |
| 28-51 (53.1%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 21-60 (35.0%) |
| 7-19 (36.8%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 6-21 (28.6%) |
| 14-19 (73.7%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 14-18 (77.8%) |
| 12 | TURNOVERS | 18 |
| 37 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 38 |
| 8 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 12 |
| 29 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 26 |
| 24 | BENCH POINTS | 16 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 4 |
| 11 | STEALS | 5 |
| 17 | ASSISTS | 11 |
Ohio State quickly pulled away in the second half, opening up a 54-36 lead by the first media timeout and a 65-40 lead by the second media timeout, and taking a 30-point lead – 74-44 – with more than nine minutes still to play.
The Buckeyes finished the game with four scorers in double digits, as Andre Wesson scored 11 points – tying his season-high – while Muhammad scored 10.
All 12 Ohio State players who are eligible to play this season saw playing time for the Buckeyes, and every one of them except walk-on Danny Hummer scored at least once. Fan favorite Joey Lane finished the game with three points and two steals.
Ohio State will return to its regular home arena, the Schottenstein Center, for its next game – its marquee home game of the non-conference slate – when it hosts Syracuse on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Game Notes
- Jackson made his 100th 3-pointer of his Ohio State career during Friday night's game.
- Recent basketball signees Alonzo Gaffney and DJ Carton were both on hand for Friday's game. Several Ohio State football commits were also in attendance, including class of 2020 commits Paris Johnson Jr., Jake Wray and Lejond Cavazos.
- Kaleb Wesson was assessed a flagrant foul during the second half.
- Duane Washington Jr. appeared to suffer an injury while driving to the basket for a layup attempt late in the second half, but was able to stay in the game after Ohio State called a timeout.
