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Buford, No. 3 Ohio State handle VMI

Nov 24, 2011 - 4:21 AM Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - William Buford scored 23 points to go with six assists and three rebounds, leading No. 3 Ohio State to a 107-74 thumping of Virginia Military Institute on Wednesday.

Jared Sullinger netted 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Buckeyes (5-0), while Aaron Craft had 13 points, eight assists and three steals.

Deshaun Thomas chipped in 11 points and J.D. Weatherspoon contributed 10 off the bench for Ohio State, which was coming off an 85-50 blowout of North Florida on Monday.

It was Ohio State's 27th consecutive home victory, the fourth-longest streak in school history. The Buckeyes will aim to tie the third-longest streak in program history when they take on Valparaiso on Friday.

Keith Gabriel paced they Keydets (3-2) with 21 points, while Ron Burks added 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Stan Okoye chipped in 12 points for the Keydets, who were coming off an 84-79 win over UMBC on Saturday.

"They are as advertised, very good," VMI head coach Duggar Baucom said. "Sullinger is a load inside and they have some tremendous guard play."

Ohio State jumped out to a 12-5 lead four minutes into the game and quickly expanded it to 19-11 on a Craft layup.

Later, a jumper by Thomas pushed the Buckeyes' lead to 30-13 with 12 1/2 to go in the first 20 minutes of play.

Ohio State shot an incredible 70 percent from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first half, and cruised to a 57-44 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Buckeyes continued their hot shooting, connecting on 66 percent of their shots. They built a comfortable 20-point lead, 66-46, just under three minutes into the half.

Ohio State kept the pressure up, crossing the 100-point plateau with just over 5 1/2 minutes to go on a layup by Lenzelle Smith, Jr.

"I think the biggest difference tonight was the start of the second half," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. "When you play a team like VMI, you're going to get pressure for 40 minutes. Our guys did a decent job down the stretch finishing plays to win the game."

Game Notes

Ohio State has won all three meetings all-time against VMI...The Buckeyes shot 68 percent for the game, while VMI shot only 39 percent...Ohio State dominated inside, scoring 68 points in the paint to only 24 for the Keydets...Ohio State also got 38 points from its bench, to only 18 for VMI.