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Lewis leads Buckeyes to BCA Tournament title

Nov 13, 2006 - 3:13 AM COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Ohio State guard Ron Lewis is already in midseason form.

Lewis scored 18 points to lift the No. 4 Buckeyes to an 81-59 victory over Kent State in the BCA Tournament championship game.

Othello Hunter added 13 and James Butler 14 for the Buckeyes, who only led, 33-30, at halftime but pulled away by outscoring the Golden Flash, 48-29, in the second half.

"We learned not to quit," Lewis said. "We need to keep fighting to get the win. It doesn't matter who we play, we can't stop playing. We need to get going from the start."

"The second half, we were away from the game like a deer in the headlights," Kent State coach Jim Christian said.

Lewis, who was selected the tournament's Most Valuable Player, shot 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. The senior scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in an 87-75 victory over Loyola of Chicago on Saturday.

"I really just played basketball," Lewis said. "I think the MVP is overrated. This is a team game. I guess somebody has to win the trophy, but I think it should go to the team."

Guard Omni Smith scored nine points to lead the Golden Flash, who shot 24-of-60 (40 percent) from the field and 4-of-15 from 3-point range.

The Buckeyes shot 28-of-51 (55 percent) from the floor and 13-of-26 from the arc.

"I am very excited to get out of here 3-0," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "I think we can definitely play better. We will go back and look at the tapes, and we will play better."