Dec. 12, 2010

Box Score |   

Columbus, Ohio - Second-ranked Ohio State used an 11-0 first half run to break the game's only tie, blitzing Western Carolina in the first half to stay perfect on the season with an 85-60 win over the Catamounts at historic, on-campus St. John Arena.

The Buckeyes (8-0) put five players in double figures including 17 from freshman Jared Sullinger who tallied nine from the free throw line as OSU scored 30 points in the paint and 22 from the charity stripe. Ohio State also forced 20 Catamount turnovers, scoring 20 points off of those miscues in the win.

"We've not been a team with a lot of turnovers this year," opened WCU head coach Larry Hunter during post-game comments with the media. "I think our guys know a lot of (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."

He added, "I was pleased with a few things. We had good player movement, good ball movement; we made the extra pass, threw it inside and shot it a little bit better. I was really pleased with our offensive rebounding and that we out-rebounded them by 13 today."

WCU senior Mike Williams led a trio of Catamounts in double figures with a game-high 22 points, also dishing out five assists and making two steals. It was the fourth-time this year that Williams had scored 20-or-more points in game, while also marking the seventh time this year Williams has paced the team in scoring.

Williams was joined in double figures by redshirt freshman Trey Sumler with 12 points and 11 from true freshman Brandon Boggs as WCU's bench outscored Ohio State, 34-to-26. Sam Smithson matched his career-best with six points, while Tawaski King paced the team with a game-high eight rebounds and classmate Preston Ross pulled down seven including three on the offensive end.

Ohio State took advantage of Western Carolina turning the ball over on 11 of its first 18 possessions and finished the first half with a 14-0 advantage in points off turnovers coming on WCU's 14 giveaways. The Buckeyes did not turn the ball over in the first half and led at the break, 42-25.

The Buckeyes led by as many as 35 points in the second half before the Catamounts were able to trim the deficit back to 25 with a Boggs dunk inside the closing seconds to provide the final tally.

Western Carolina continued its strong performance on the boards, outrebounding the taller Buckeyes by 13, 39-to-26, including 14 offensive boards.

Western Carolina will now break for final exams this week, returning to the hardwood next Saturday, Dec. 18 against the Dayton Flyers in Dayton, Ohio.

Post-Game Notes:
- Ohio State won the first-ever meeting between the Catamounts and Buckeyes on Sunday, relegating WCU to 0-12 all-time against teams currently from the Big Ten Conference ... WCU is also 0-36 all-time against nationally-ranked teams, 0-2 against teams ranked second in the nation with the 2008-09 season-opener at Connecticut representing the only other game against a No. 2 team;

- Western Carolina has lost four-straight games on the year marking the longest winless drought for the Catamounts since the 2006-07 season ... WCU had not dropped more than three-consecutive games in a single-season since '06-07 ... The Catamounts endured a pair of five-game skids.

- WCU outrebounded Ohio State, 39-to-26, including a 14-to-6 edge on the offensive boards ... On the season, the Catamounts have managed to out rebound seven of their first 12 opponents including double-digit margins over Division I foes DePaul, Bradley and OSU;

- Senior guard Mike Williams scored 20-plus points for the fifth time in his WCU career, coming up two points shy of matching his career-high of 24 which he scored last year at Louisville and matched this season against Gardner-Webb ... When Williams surpasses the 20-point plateau, the Catamounts are just 1-4 overall - 0-4 this season - with the lone win coming last season at Louisville;

- Williams has scored in double figures in 10 of the first 12 games this season;

- Due to fall quarter graduation held across the street at the larger, newer Value City Arena, Sunday's game was played at St. John Arena, the Buckeyes' home court from 1956-1997.