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OSU remains perfect with home win over Purdue

Jan 26, 2011 - 6:08 AM Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - William Buford was 5-of-6 from three-point range for 19 points, Jared Sullinger scored 17 and No. 1 Ohio State cruised to an 87-64 victory Tuesday over 12th-ranked Purdue.

Buford buried a three-pointer to start the game and the Buckeyes (21-0, 8-0 Big Ten) never trailed while pulling within one win of tying the second-best start in program history.

Deshaun Thomas and Jon Diebler both added 13 points in the win, Aaron Craft scored 11 and David Lighty had 10.

JaJuan Johnson scored 22 points to lead Purdue (17-4, 6-2) and E'Twaun Moore contributed 16. But the Boilermakers were clearly overmatched while having their two-game winning streak snapped.

"They have a lot of talent and I'm impressed with their toughness," said Purdue head coach Matt Painter. "They were ready to play."

Ohio State was 6-for-9 from three-point range in the first half, shooting 57 percent overall for a 46-26 lead at break. Craft scored nine of his 11 points in the half to lead the way and added five rebounds and four assists.

It was a mismatch all the way. Thomas buried a three with 12 1/2 minutes left in the half for a 19-5 lead and Craft's spinning layup made it 26-9 later on.

The Boilermakers didn't reach double digits until almost 10 1/2 minutes in when Johnson's jumper pulled them within 26-11.

Ohio State's lead broke the 20-point barrier after a Craft layup and a Lighty jumper made it 35-13 inside six minutes. It only dipped below 20 a few times after that.

"We knew coming in that we had to attack in transition and get easy baskets," said Craft. "Any time you can get baskets like that it's good to see."

Purdue never made it a contest in the second half as the Buckeyes continued to pour it on.

Ohio State finished the game shooting 55 percent and made 11 of its 19 three- point attempts.

Even Sullinger, the 6-foot-9 forward who has been named Big Ten freshman of the week nine times this season, got in on the action. He drilled a three near the top of the arc to make it 53-33 in the second half.

"I think that's a big part of our team, that everyone can make baskets," said Craft.

Later, a Sullinger three-point play gave the Buckeyes a 70-43 lead with 12 minutes remaining and they went ahead by as many as 31 down the stretch.

Game Notes

Ohio State went 27-0 to start the 1960-61 season and was 22-0 to begin the 1961-62 campaign...The Buckeyes have the nation's longest winning streak.