Meechie Johnson Jr. and E.J. Liddell each scored 13 points and No. 19 Ohio State routed Bowling Green 89-58 in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday.
Zed Key and Eugene Brown III added 12 points for the Buckeyes (3-0), who led 41-18 at the half.
Chandler Turner had 12 points while Joe Reece and Samari Curtis each had 11 for Bowling Green (1-2).
The Buckeyes had trouble putting away Akron (67-66) and Niagara (84-74) but were able to jump on the Falcons from the start, scoring the first 11 points beginning with 3-pointers by Jamari Wheeler and Liddell.
Justin Ahrens made two free throws and Wheeler hit another 3 before Gabe O’Neal ended the Falcons’ 0-for-5 shooting with a bucket at the 15:44 mark.
It got worse from there for the Falcons, who were coming off a 101-60 win against Division III Ohio Wesleyan.
The Buckeyes reeled off 13 points in a row for a 24-4 lead while Bowling Green missed 12 consecutive shots. Later, Key capped a 10-0 run on a dunk with 1:07 left in the half to make it 41-13.
Ohio State in the first half made 17 of 32 field goals (53.1 percent) while the Falcons went 8 of 31 (25.8 percent).
The Buckeyes’ biggest lead was 42, at 81-39.
Ohio State was without forward Justice Sueing (lower-body injury) but guard Cedric Russell returned after missing one game because of a death in his family.
Ohio State plays at Xavier on Thursday. Bowling Green hosts Norfolk State on Friday.
This was the first game for each as part of the Fort Myers Tip-off. The teams will travel to Florida next week to continue the tournament.
Ohio State is in the Beach Division and will play Seton Hall on Nov. 22 and faces California or Florida on Nov. 24. Bowling Green is in the Palms Division. The Falcons play Milwaukee on Nov. 23 and Southern Utah or Yale the following day.
–Field Level Media
