Kaleb Wesson scored 17 of his 18 points in the first half as Ohio State rolled to its fourth straight win to open the season with a 89-61 victory against South Carolina State in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday.

Wesson, a 6-foot-9 sophomore from nearby Westerville, Ohio, in the first half nearly equaled his career best of 19 points at Wisconsin on Dec. 2. He finished having made 4 of 7 field goals, including 3 of 4 3-pointers in 21 minutes.

His brother, Andre Wesson, had 11 points, two shy of his OSU-high, by making 4 of 5 from the floor.

Also in double figures for the Buckeyes were freshmen Duane Washington Jr. (14), Jaedon LeDee (12) and Luther Muhammad (12).

Damni Applewhite had 15 points and Aramani Hill 11 for the Bulldogs (1-4), who have lost four straight.

The Bulldogs stayed with the Buckeyes through the first media timeout at the 15:46 mark, trailing 8-6. But Ohio State went on a 9-2 run over the next four minutes with Wesson getting seven of those points.

Washington drained a trey for a 20-8 lead, and the rout was on.

OSU led 43-21 at the half, and the Bulldogs didn't help themselves by shooting 27.6 percent (8 for 29) from the floor in the first half, making just 1 of 9 from beyond the arc.

The Buckeyes showed their mettle with a season-opening win at Cincinnati and Thursday's 69-60 victory at Creighton. In between was a 107-61 win over Purdue Fort Wayne.

Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann wanted to see his young team not take a step back against the Bulldogs, who were coming off an 84-69 loss to Cleveland State on Friday for the Bulldogs third straight loss.

They didn't disappoint.

The Buckeyes are 18-0 all-time against the current teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

South Carolina State returned Applewhite and Jani Raynor-Powell from last season's team that was 10-22 last season and finished 10th in the MEAC.

On Tuesday the Buckeyes host Samford while South Carolina State plays at Purdue Fort Wayne.

--Field Level Media