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Ohio State routs North Florida

Nov 22, 2011 - 5:19 AM Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Jared Sullinger dropped 27 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, leading the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes to an 85-50 drubbing of North Florida Monday night.

Deshaun Thomas scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Buckeyes (4-0), while William Buford chipped in with 13 points to go with five rebounds and four assists.

Parker Smith paced the Ospreys (1-4) with 10 points off the bench, while Jerron Granberry had eight points and five rebounds.

Travis Wallace contributed seven points and seven rebounds, while Jimmy Williams Jr. had seven points for North Florida.

The Buckeyes jumped out to an 11-6 lead after four minutes, and a layup by Sullinger pushed Ohio State's advantage to 21-14 with under 9:26 to go in the opening half of play.

"I had to get on some guys in a timeout in the first half and after that I think we really responded," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said.

The Buckeyes then used a 9-5 spurt over the next four-plus minutes to push the lead to a comfortable 30-19 margin.

A pair of free throws by Sullinger with just over a minute to play gave the Buckeyes a 41-26 lead and they closed out the first half holding a 45-26 advantage.

In the second half it was more of the same for Ohio State, as a free throw by Buford less than a minute into the half gave the Buckeyes a 49-26 cushion.

Ohio State scored 13 of the first 16 points of the half to take a 58-29 lead.

The Buckeyes outscored the Ospreys, 40-24, in the second half.

"When you have runs like that you can really separate yourself," North Florida head coach Matthew Driscoll said.

Game Notes

This bout marked the first-ever meeting between North Florida and Ohio State on the hardwood. The Buckeyes are 12-0 all-time against teams from the A-Sun, while the Ospreys are 0-2 against foes from the Big Ten...Ohio State outrebounded North Florida 44-31 and scored 25 points off 23 North Florida turnovers...The Buckeyes shot 47 percent, while the Ospreys shot 39 percent...Ohio State scored 44 points in the paint to only 20 for North Florida.