Bryant Bulldogs at Ohio State Buckeyes

Lenzelle Smith Jr., Ohio State cruise to 38-point rout of Bryant

Buckeyes coach Thad Matta hopes they keep ignoring him.

Smith scored 19 points and No. 3 Ohio State pulled away early to beat Bryant 86-48 on Wednesday night.

Smith, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who does a little of everything, hit six of nine shots from the field, including half of his four 3-point attempts. He had eight rebounds and three assists.

There isn't much about Smith that grabs people's attention.

Point guard Aaron Craft is the tough guy who might be as good a defender on the ball as anyone in the country. Swingman LaQuinton Ross is 6-8 with a velvet shooting touch. Sam Thompson comes off the bench to make high-flying dunks. Shannon Scott and big man Amir Williams are game-changing defenders.

"They're so talented. That's what's hard about playing them," Bryant coach Tim O'Shea said. "Who do you really want to leave open? They're just an elite team, a very, very, very elite team."

Williams added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes, who rolled from the outset of the early-round game in the Blackrock Gotham Classic. It will conclude Dec. 21 with the Buckeyes meeting Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden.

The Bulldogs (6-5) hung around with the Buckeyes for a while, but then went scoreless over the last 5:25 of the first half and watched the Buckeyes close with an 8-0 run to take a 43-23 lead. Ohio State then scored the first five points of the second half before Dan Garvin's layup ended a drought of 6:40.

By then, it was all over.

Ohio State has lost focus from time to time against lesser teams after it has taken a big early lead. Not this time.

Dyami Starks had 16 points for Bryant, which was playing its second game in three nights. The Bulldogs lost at Notre Dame 70-59 on Monday night.

Starks came in averaging 22.1 points a game, eighth-best in Division I. He had scored at least 20 in five games and 30 in three others. But he was held to 5-of-15 shooting from the field.

The Buckeyes led 8-7 early and then scored 14 of the next 18 points to take command. For the game, they shot 52 percent on 32-of-61. They hit eight of 20 3-pointers (40 percent).

With Ohio State denying points inside or off the break, Bryant shot 28 percent from the field (16-of-58). It was 6-of-24 from behind the arc.

The Buckeyes appear to have everything clicking right now.

"We're making great finds, we're reading each other," Smith said. "We have great guards on the perimeter and we're able to attack the defense and penetrate and kick the ball out. That's what you want to do. Our shooting has increased over the last three or four games, and we want to just keep rolling."

How can I watch Bryant vs. Ohio State?

• TV Channel: Bryant at Ohio State 2021 College Basketball, week 6, is broadcasted on BTN.
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