COLUMBUS — Outstanding shooting and a wide cast of scorers saw Ohio State (8-3, 2-0) eventually overwhelm William & Mary (6-3) to the tune of a 97-62 win Saturday afternoon at Value City Arena.
The Buckeyes were led once again by junior forward Keita Bates-Diop, who led all scorers with 27 points.
Ohio State shot 35-of-54 (.648) from the field and 11-of-21 (.524) from three-point territory, which helps to explain how William & Mary could shoot .519 from the field and still lose by 35 points.
The Buckeyes and the Tribe traded the lead back and forth for the first eight minutes of the game, but from that point on Ohio State finally let their greed get the best of them. They took over, never stopping once to think about William & Mary’s needs in the process.
A three-pointer from sophomore forward Andre Wesson gave the Buckeyes a 22-20 lead with 12:05 remaining in the first half, and it was the last time the lead would change. Wesson’s three sparked a 20-2 run that gave Ohio State enough room to work for the rest of the game.
A jumper by freshman center Kaleb Wesson made it 46-24 with just over a minute to play in the first half.
Despite a mini-run by William & Mary to get the lead cut to 14 points at the start of the second half, the Buckeyes were never tested. Their lead stretched into the 20s, then the 30s, and finally the 40s a couple of times.
What could have been a sleepy outing for the Buckeyes with a 12:00 pm non-conference tip proved to be anything but.
Ohio State forced 18 turnovers, converting those mistakes into 26 points. The Buckeyes have struggled with turnovers this season, but only committed 11 on the day, which were only converted into nine points.
Buckeye head coach Chris Holtmann wanted to send a message to point guard C.J. Jackson a week or two ago by benching him for not taking care of the basketball. Jackson was back in the starting lineup on Saturday and handed out six assists without a single turnover.
Kam Williams was also in the starting lineup for just the fifth time in 11 games this season and responded with 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Kaleb Wesson scored 17 points and led everybody with seven rebounds.
The Star
Keita Bates-Diop scored an easy 27 points for the Buckeyes, doing it inside and out, off the dribble and off the catch. He made 11-of-16 field goal attempts in his 26 minutes of action. KBD is now averaging 18.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while shooting .528 from the field and .444 from three-point territory.
The Unexpected
Freshman forward Kyle Young sprained his ankle in practice on Thursday. Chris Holtmann was hopeful to have him ready for Saturday’s game, but it was just too quick of a turnaround for Young to be ready. Young has primarily been used in place of sophomore center Micah Potter, who is also dealing with his own ankle issue. Potter didn’t play today, so the Buckeyes were without two of their front court players. In the end, it didn’t matter as Ohio State was still able to overwhelm William & Mary with the front court players who were still available.
The Quote
“I think we are taking better ones. We tell guys all the time, look at your numbers right now. If you are shooting 22%, there’s a reason for that. A lot of that has to do with the quality of the shot you’re taking and I think we are taking higher quality threes than what we took at times earlier in the year.” — Chris Holtmann on the Buckeyes’ improved shooting from deep.
The Box Score
The Notes
• The game marked the first meeting between Ohio State and William & Mary.
• The Buckeyes are 11-2 all-time against members of the Colonial Athletic Association.
• Ohio State shot 64.8% from the field. It holds a 4-0 record this season when shooting over 50% from the field.
• The Buckeyes made a season-high 11 3-pointers in the contest.
• Ohio State scored a season-high 97 points, its highest total since scoring 111 against Marshall Nov. 25, 2016.
• The Buckeyes are 8-0 this season when scoring 70+ points.
• Ohio State matched a season high with 19 assists.
• The Buckeyes committed a season-low 12 fouls.
• The game marked the second time Chris Holtmann has squared off against the Tribe.
• Holtmann holds a 1-1 record against William & Mary for his career and 1-0 at the helm of the Buckeyes.
• Jae’Sean Tate scored eight points on a perfect 4-4 from the field while adding three rebounds, three assists, and a block in the contest.
• His eight points moved him past Larry Siegfried to take possession of the 34th spot on the Buckeyes all-time scoring list.
• Keita Bates-Diop poured in a career-high 27 points while grabbing four boards and dishing out two assists.
• Bates-Diop has led the Buckeyes in scoring in six of their 11 contests on the year.
• The Buckeyes are 5-1 in games in which Bates-Diop leads the team in scoring this season.
• Kaleb Wesson scored 17 points adding seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and three steals in the contest.
• Wesson tied career-high marks in blocks, assists and rebounds while setting a career high for steals.
• Andrew Dakich scored a career-high eight points on a perfect 3-3 from the field and 2-2 from behind the arc. He also added three rebounds and two assists.
• Andre Wesson scored five points while adding three rebounds and three assists.
• His three assists tied a career high set Dec. 2 against Wisconsin.
• Connor Fulton scored his first career point and grabbed his first career rebound in three minutes of action.
[Andrew Dakich photo courtesy OhioStateBuckeyes.com]