No. 7 Ohio State 90, UNC Asheville 72: Sam Thompson scored a career-high 18 points and Deshaun Thomas added 17 points and 10 rebounds as the host Buckeyes breezed to their fourth straight victory.
Lenzelle Smith Jr. chipped in 16 points and Evan Ravenel had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Buckeyes (8-1), who have won 59 straight against unranked opponents at home. Ohio State shot 59 percent from the floor and had assists on 25 of its 36 field goals.
Keith Hornsby scored a career-high 26 points on 9-for-12 shooting for the Bulldogs (3-7), who saw their two-game win streak come to an end. They have lost seven of nine.
The Bulldogs never led but managed to hang around for most of the first half. Ohio State pushed the lead to 50-35 at intermission and opened the second half on a 15-3 run to turn it into a rout.
Will Weeks added 14 points for UNC Asheville, but leading scorer Jeremy Atkinson was held to 11 - seven points below his average.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Buckeyes have won 38 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents, but ended their streak of 14 home non-conference wins by 20 points or more. … Ohio State improved to 14-0 against teams from the Big South Conference. … UNC Asheville has not beaten an NCAA Division I opponent since a season-opening victory over Western Carolina.
N.C. Asheville | Ohio St. | |
Keith Hornsby 26 | Scoring | Sam Thompson 18 |
Jeremy Atkinson 3 | Assists | Shannon Scott 9 |
Will Weeks 6 | Rebounds | Deshaun Thomas 10 |
Will Weeks 4 | Free Throws Made | Sam Thompson 7 |
Jon Nwannunu 1 | Steals | Shannon Scott 6 |
D.J. Cunningham 2 | Blocks | Amedeo Della Valle 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
N.C. Asheville | 72 | 42.4 | 6-20 | 16-19 | 14 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 17 |
Ohio St. | 90 | 59.0 | 6-18 | 12-19 | 25 | 31 | 5 | 10 | 12 |