C.J. Jackson scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and Kaleb Wesson had 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for No. 15 Ohio State in an 80-66 victory against UCLA at the United Center in Chicago on Saturday.
Ohio State has (11-1) won five straight. UCLA (7-5) lost its third in a row.
Kyle Young had 11 points for the Buckeyes, who were ahead 33-30 at the half.
Kris Wilkes led the Bruins with 18 points. Jaylen Hands added 13 points and Cody Riley 10.
The game was part of the annual CBS Sports Classic doubleheader that also features North Carolina and Kentucky.
Early in the second half OSU went up 51-42 thanks to a 3-pointer by Duane Washington Jr. The Bruins pulled to within 52-48 but Jackson outscored the Bruins 5-2 to make it 57-50 with under nine minutes left.
OSU led 59-52 when Wesson picked up his fourth foul with 6:58 left, but the Buckeyes were able to increase the lead to 63-53 over the next minute on a Jackson jumper and a dunk by Young. Jackson followed with a 3-pointer to make it 66-53.
A pair of free throws by Wesson's brother, Andre Wesson, completed a 9-1 stretch for a 68-53 lead with five minutes left.
Ohio State played at the United Center for the second time this month, having defeated Illinois 77-67 on Dec. 5.
The teams shared a common opponent. The Buckeyes won 64-56 at Cincinnati in their Nov. 7 season opener. UCLA was beaten 93-64 at Cincinnati on Wednesday. That was preceded by the Bruins losing 74-72 at home to Belmont on Dec. 15.
There were eight ties in the opening half before Washington canned a trey at the 1:07 mark for Ohio State's 31-28 advantage. Wilkes scored from inside before Luther Muhammad's jumper with 29 seconds left regained a three-point lead.
There is one more non-conference game for the Buckeyes and Bruins on Dec. 29 before they play in the Big Ten and Pac-12, respectively. Ohio State hosts High Point and UCLA is home to Liberty.
--Field Level Media
UCLA | Ohio St. | |
Kris Wilkes 18 | Scoring | C.J. Jackson 22 |
Jaylen Hands 9 | Assists | Keyshawn Woods 10 |
Kris Wilkes 7 | Rebounds | Kaleb Wesson 12 |
Jules Bernard 4 | Free Throws Made | C.J. Jackson 5 |
Jaylen Hands 5 | Steals | Kyle Young 2 |
Moses Brown 2 | Blocks | Andre Wesson 5 |