#4 Ohio State Defeats UAlbany Mens Basketball, 82-60, On Sunday

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Junior guard Aaron Craft led the Buckeyes with 20 points to defeat UAlbany, 82-60, on Sunday, Nov. 11 at the Value City Arena. The Great Danes look ahead to the Washington Huskies on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at Alaska Airlines Arena. Great Danes senior guard Mike Black led his squad with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Jacob Iati scored in double figures with 13 points, shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Craft paced No. 4 Ohio State with 20 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the three point line. Deshaun Thomas, Lenzelle Smith Jr., and LaQuinton Ross all scored in double figures with 19, 18, and 10 points, respectively. UAlbany out shot Ohio State from the free throw line 73.3 percent (22-30) to 46.2 percent (6-13). The Great Danes tied the Buckeyes on the boards with 32 apiece. The Great Danes came out aggressive, keeping up with the No. 4 Buckeyes. Both teams would battle back and forth through the first six minutes of play, with Ohio State holding a slight 10-8 lead with 14:02 remaining. Black tallied five of the team's first eight points. Ohio State extended its lead to six, 14-8, with 12:20 left. Craft and Ross each tallied buckets to push the Buckeye lead. However, UAlbany came back by going on a 15-8 run with 4:46 left in the half to give the Great Danes a 23-22 lead. Black paced the Great Danes with eight points and forward Sam Rowley capped the run with a layup. Buckeye's Thomas took the game into his own hands for the final four minutes of the half, scoring 13 of his 16 first half points. Ohio State went into the half with a 14-point lead, 39-25. Ohio State took its 14-point first half lead and extended it to 27, 67-40, with 7:24 left in the second half. Craft hit three of his five triples during the Buckeye run. UAlbany used a 20-8 run to cut the deficit to 15, 75-60, with 1:52 remaining in the half. Two offensive rebounds by Luke Devlin helped Peter Hooley hit a three to cut the deficit. But Ohio State held off the UAlbany run to begin the season 1-0.