Men’s Basketball: No. 13 Ohio State dominates High Point 82-64 in final non-conference game

Braden Moles
Sat, 29 Dec 2018 18:55:50 +0000
Basketball, Men's Basketball, News, Sports, Andre Wesson, Buckeyes, buckeyes basketball, Buckeyes men's basketball, C.J. Jackson, Chris Holtmann, CJ Jackson, Duane Washington Jr., High Point, High Point basketball, High Point men's basketball, joey lane, justin ahrens, Kaleb Wesson, keyshawn woods, kyle young, Luther Muhammad, march madness, musa jallow, NCAA Tournament, ohio state, ohio state basketball, Ohio State basketball final, Ohio State basketball recap, ohio state basketball score, Ohio State final, Ohio State High Point, Ohio State Men's Basketball [and 8 more]

Ohio State freshman guard Luther Muhammad (1) shoots a three-pointer during the first half of the game against Purdue-Fort Wayne on Nov. 11. Ohio State won 107-61. Credit: Amal Saeed | Assistant Photo Editor

No. 13 Ohio State (11-1, 2-0 Big Ten) came back from a 16-2 run by High Point (6-6) to eventually take the lead before running away with a 82-64 win in its last non-conference matchup of the season.

Ohio State secured its 18-point victory against the Panthers after shooting 70.8 percent from the field in the second half, making 5-of-10 attempts from deep.

After taking a 14-6 lead early in the first half, the Buckeyes allowed High Point to score 16 of the next 18 points, giving the Panthers their first lead of the game. High Point hit from two 3s during the run while the Buckeyes were only 1-for-9 from deep.

After the Panthers took a 22-16 lead, the Buckeyes responded with a 19-6 run of their own to close out the half. Freshman guard Luther Muhammad connected on three 3-pointers in the first half en route to 14 points, both career highs with a half still to play.

Muhammad finished the game with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. While Muhammad surged offensively, he also played lockdown defense, limiting High Point junior guard Jahaad Proctor to only four points, making two of nine attempts from the field. Proctor was the Panthers’ leading scorer entering the game.

Sophomore forward Kaleb Wesson also gave life to the Buckeyes’ offense with two 3-pointers during the run, finishing with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists

Overall, the Buckeyes shot 43.3 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3 in the first half, taking the lead despite the Panthers connecting on 52 percent of their shots.

The Buckeyes extended their lead early in the second half with seven quick points from senior guard C.J. Jackson, finishing the game with 20 points, leading all scorers. After the shaky first half, the Buckeyes only allowed 36 points in the final 20 minutes, limiting the Panthers to 37.9 percent from the field.

Four Buckeyes ended the game with double-digit point totals and eight Buckeyes scored.

The Buckeyes will stay home on Jan. 5 as they begin the bulk of their Big Ten schedule against No. 8 Michigan State at noon.