E.J. Liddell scored 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had five assists as No. 16 Ohio State defeated Maryland 82-67 on Sunday at Columbus, Ohio.
The Buckeyes (14-5, 7-3 Big Ten) increased a 42-29 halftime lead to 58-36 before the Terrapins (11-12, 3-9) chipped away. The advantage was down to 74-62 when Liddell made a 3-pointer with 3:49 to play.
Zed Key was 6 of 7 from the floor with 14 points for the Buckeyes, while Justin Ahrens also added 14. Ohio State won for the fourth time in its past five games.
Ahrens was 4 of 7 from 3-point range, including a triple to make it 80-64 with 3:11 remaining.
Donta Scott scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half for the Terrapins, who have lost three consecutive games. Fatts Russell had 12 points for Maryland.
Ohio State shot 50.8 percent (30 of 59) from the field and was 42.3 percent (11 of 26) from 3-point range. Maryland was 39.0 (23 of 59) from the floor. The Terrapins had nine turnovers to six for the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes did not show any rust after a short layoff. With a home game against Iowa on Thursday postponed because of inclement weather, their second postponement of a Big Ten game, Ohio State had not played since an 81-78 loss at Purdue last Sunday.
The Buckeyes showed their pep early by blitzing the Terrapins 17-6 in less than six minutes as the Buckeyes made 7 of 10 shots. While they cooled to a 16 of 26 (61.5 percent) from the floor for the first half, they took their biggest lead of the first half at 42-27 on a 3-pointer by Ahrens with 1:12 left.
Liddell led the way before halftime by making 4 of 5 field goals for 11 points and dishing four assists.
Maryland's poor shooting contributed to the first-half deficit. The Terrapins were 10 of 31 (32.3 percent) from the field.
The Buckeyes, 10-0 at home, play their next two on the road against Rutgers on Wednesday and Michigan on Saturday. Maryland plays host to Iowa on Thursday.
--Field Level Media
Maryland | Ohio St. | |
Donta Scott 25 | Scoring | E.J. Liddell 24 |
Fatts Russell 5 | Assists | E.J. Liddell 5 |
Fatts Russell 6 | Rebounds | E.J. Liddell 11 |
Donta Scott 4 | Free Throws Made | E.J. Liddell 4 |
Eric Ayala 2 | Steals | Cedric Russell 1 |
N/A | Blocks | E.J. Liddell 1 |