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No. 12 Ohio State routs NC A&T

Dec 18, 2014 - 4:05 AM Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - D'Angelo Russell scored 21 points to lead No. 12 Ohio State in a 97-55 rout of North Carolina A&T at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday.

Marc Loving and Kam Williams each finished with 15 points and Shannon Scott stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, 12 assists, seven steals and four boards for the Buckeyes (9-1), who won their fourth consecutive game.

"We were only up 13 points at halftime, and we felt like we should've been up more than that," Scott said. "We took a lot of pride in playing tough defense in the second half."

Bruce Beckford had a game-high 26 points and Arturs Bremers scored 14 for the Aggies (1-11), who dropped their 11th straight contest after winning their season opener against Greensboro.

"I thought that our young men came out and were intimidated early on and got down, but I think we competed hard the entire game and especially the first half," Aggies head coach Cy Alexander said. "I give Ohio State credit for taking advantage of our turnovers."

Loving's triple ignited Ohio State's 10-0 start. Russell and Loving combined for 13 points as the Buckeyes led 15-2 less than four minutes into the contest.

Beckford, however, scored the Aggies' first nine points as his trey made it a 21-9 game with 12:12 to play in the first half.

The Buckeyes led 39-26 at halftime, thanks to Russell's 13 points and Loving's eight.

Loving's 3-pointer highlighted Ohio State's 7-0 run to start the second half. The Buckeyes led by as much as 48 points down the stretch.

Game Notes

The Buckeyes improved to 3-0 against the Aggies ... North Carolina A&T is now 0-31 all-time against ranked opponents ... Ohio State is now 18-0 vs. members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ... The Buckeyes are 102-1 in their last 103 contests against unranked teams. The last loss was Dec. 27, 2008 against West Virginia ... Ohio State shot 35-for-62 (56.5 percent) from the floor, while North Carolina A&T shot 22-for-58 (37.9 percent).