South Carolina State Bulldogs at Ohio State Buckeyes

Kaleb Wesson leads Ohio State past S.C. State 89-61

Kaleb Wesson scored 17 of his 18 points in the first half as the Buckeyes (4-0) took a 43-21 halftime lead.

The 6-9 sophomore made 4 of 7 field goals, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and played nearly 15 of his 21 minutes in the first half.

"I feel I like I had it going early," Wesson said. "My teammates kept finding me."

What impressed South Carolina State coach Murray Garvin the most about Wesson was a different number.

"Kaleb Wesson drew 12 fouls from our game tonight," he said. "I haven't seen that before where a post player that big, it's almost like Shaq in the late 90s.

"Wesson was the matchup we didn't have any answer for. Ohio State recognized that and they kept going to that well and it didn't run dry."

Andre Wesson, a junior, had 11 points, two shy of his OSU best.

Freshmen Duane Washington Jr. scored 14 points, Jaedon Ledee added 12 and Luther Muhammad had 11 for the Buckeyes.

"Kaleb's aggressiveness offensively set the tone," Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said.

Damani Applewhite scored 15 points and Aramani Hill had 11 for the Bulldogs (1-4).

Ohio State shot 55 percent from the floor (28 of 51) to the Bulldogs' 37 percent (23 of 62).

HE SAID IT

Garvin on the Buckeyes' 18 assists: "I believe Ohio State is a very unselfish basketball team. They don't care who scores."

TIP-INS

The Wesson brothers outscored the Bulldogs 24-21 in the first half, with Andre contributing seven points. . Ohio State is 18-0 against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teams such as South Carolina State . The Bulldogs shot 15.8 percent (3 for 19) from 3-point range after making 26.7 percent (4 of 15) in the previous game vs. Cleveland State. . OSU's C.J. Jackson made one 3-pointer and needs two for 100 in the senior's career.

BIG PICTURE

South Carolina State: The Bulldogs are trying to develop a winning culture with a batch of new players. Only Applewhite and Janai Raynor-Powell return from last season's team that finished 10-22 for Garvin. Early indications are it will be another tough season for the Bulldogs but playing a team the caliber of Ohio State can be of value in the long haul.

Ohio State: Chris Holtmann, the 2017-18 Big Ten coach of the year, expected the Buckeyes to take a step back with six new faces but the early results continue to be positive with road wins at Cincinnati and Creighton.

UP NEXT

South Carolina: Plays the fifth of eight straight road games Tuesday at Purdue Fort Wayne. The Mastodons lost 107-61 at Ohio State on Nov. 11.

Ohio State: Takes on Samford on Tuesday and could have another opportunity to build confidence.

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