Ohio State blasts Savannah State in basketball tilt

Columbus, OH, United States (4E Sports) – Deshaun Thomas scored 21 of his 22 points for Ohio State Buckeyes in the first 20 minutes in a rout of Savannah State Tigers 85-45 on Wednesday.

LaQuinton Ross added 13 points and tied a career high with nine rebounds, Shannon Scott had a career-best 12 points to go with four steals and three assists and Evan Ravenel chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes (7-1).

The Tigers came in relying on their stingy defense. They were allowing only 53.0 points a game, with their opponents shooting 37.1 percent from the field.

But the Buckeyes hit 10 of 19 shots behind the arc while shooting 48 percent from the field for the game.

They also dominated the boards and at one point had a 15-1 advantage.

Ohio State led 42-18 at the break. Scott’s 3 with 12:01 left gave the Buckeyes a 64-31 lead — and also surpassed the most points given up by Savannah State this season. The Tigers gave up 62 points in an 84-62 win over Trinity Baptist. They had limited No. 5 Florida to just 58 points in a 58-40 loss on Nov. 20.

Arnold Louis led Savannah State (5-5) with 14 points.

The game served as another tuneup for the Buckeyes.

The next big target game for the Buckeyes is a showdown Dec. 22 against No. 9 Kansas, the team that beat them 64-62 in the national semifinals last spring.

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