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Sullinger, No. 2 Ohio State beat Catamounts

Dec 12, 2010 - 11:24 PM Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Jared Sullinger had 17 points and five rebounds as No. 2 Ohio State rolled to an 85-60 victory over Western Carolina.

Dallas Lauderdale and Deshaun Thomas both had 13 points for the Buckeyes (8-0), who have won every game this season by double-digits, with the closest contest being Thursday's 75-64 win over IUPUI. William Bumford added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.

"We came out with a little more intensity on defense to start the game, and we shared the ball well on offense, especially in the first half," said Ohio State head coach Thad Matta. "Overall, I was pretty pleased with the way the guys played today."

Mike Williams had a game-high 22 points for the Catamounts (4-8), who have dropped four straight. Trey Sumler donated 12 points off the bench in the loss.

"We've not been a team with a lot of turnovers," said Western Carolina head coach Larry Hunter. "I think our guys know a lot of their (Ohio State's) freshmen class from AAU, and we almost gave them too much respect. We were aggressive on the boards. We have some athletic guys, we're just not big."

The Buckeyes scored 13 of the first 15 points in the game and held a 24-9 lead after Sullinger put in two free throws with 8 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

Ohio State led by as many as 20 in the first half before taking a 42-25 lead into the locker room.

The Buckeyes came out of the break with a 10-3 run and later scored eight straight points, with Sullinger's layup giving the team a 60-33 lead just under seven minutes in.

Ohio State led by as many as 35 points as it cruised to the finish line.

Game Notes

The Buckeyes host Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday...This was the first meeting between these two schools...Ohio State made 51.9 percent of its shots, including 7-of-15 from three-point range.