National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ohio St. 83, Florida Gulf Coast 55
When: 6:30 PM ET, Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Where: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Officials: # Mike Eades, # Dan Chrisman, # Ed Corbett
Attendance: 12613

Jon Diebler hit nine 3-pointers and finished with 29 points as No. 2 Ohio State cruised past Florida Gulf Coast, 83-55, on Wednesday.

William Buford added 17 points and six rebounds for the Buckeyes, who forced 23 turnovers.

Diebler hit 5-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first half and went into the break with 15 points as Ohio State (9-0) streaked out to a 42-16 lead. The Buckeyes forced 14 turnovers and held the Eagles to 6-of-19 shooting in the first 20 minutes. Ohio State wasn’t much better from the field but took twice as many shots, thanks in part to 11 offensive rebounds.

Florida Gulf Coast (2-5) managed to shoot better in the second half but the damage had already been done.

The Buckeyes get South Carolina this weekend and have three home games next week before beginning Big Ten play at Indiana on December 31. The one potential threat to a perfect pre-conference slate looks like a December 23 matchup with giant-killer Oakland, which took Michigan State down to the wire and knocked off No. 7 Tennessee on Tuesday.

Top Game Performances
 
Florida Gulf Coast   Ohio St.
Chase Fieler 12 Scoring Jon Diebler 29
Marlon Rivera 7 Assists Aaron Craft 7
Chase Fieler 5 Rebounds Dallas Lauderdale 8
Anthony Banks 4 Free Throws Made David Lighty 3
Chase Fieler 3 Steals David Lighty 3
Kevin Cantinol 1 Blocks Dallas Lauderdale 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Florida Gulf Coast 55 43.5 8-21 7-13 15 24 1 5
Ohio St. 83 48.5 13-28 6-9 23 35 4 11