BASKETBALL OSU cruises to easy victory

Boardman grad Terence Dials led the Buckeyes with 20 points.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Three days after their biggest win of the season, the Ohio State Buckeyes didn't relax and didn't relent.
J.J. Sullinger scored six of his 14 points during a 13-0 first-half run and Ohio State never trailed in a 74-48 win over overmatched Morehead State on Sunday.
The Buckeyes were coming off a 77-71 win on Thursday night over Texas Tech, coached by Hall-of-Famer and former Ohio State player Bob Knight. That was considered one of Ohio State's biggest road wins in recent years.
"We were really up for that game on Thursday," said Tony Stockman, who matched Sullinger with 14 points. "Sometimes you've got to dig deep to get up for a game like this. Sometimes it's hard."
The Buckeyes (8-2) ran their record over Ohio Valley Conference teams to 16-0.
Cruise control
Boardman High graduate Terence Dials scored 20 points for Ohio State, which led by as many as 28 points in the second half. The Buckeyes were on cruise control after jumping off to a big early lead.
"Coach [Thad Matta] talked about not letting our guard down after a big win," Dials said. "That was something he was afraid of."
Morehead State coach Kyle Macy said he told his team Ohio State would either come in overconfident from its win in Texas or on a roll because of the big win. Macy never really found out which it was because his team made it easy for the Buckeyes.
"It was like we were afraid of them," Macy said. "I don't know if we were awed by their players or what."
The Buckeyes plugged the paint for Morehead State (5-3), limiting the Eagles to 30 percent shooting from the field -- mostly on shots off the dribble and from the perimeter.
"We did some pretty good things defensively throughout the first half," Matta said.
Josh Reed and Chad McKnight -- both Ohio natives -- scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, for Morehead State. Reed hit 5-of-6 3-pointers and McKnight made all seven of his free throws. The Eagles, second in the nation at 80.5 percent in free throw shooting, made their last nine foul shots after Cory Burns missed their first two.
A secure lead
The win was the third in a row for Ohio State, which never trailed after Ivan Harris opened the game by scoring the Buckeyes' first five points. They led by as many as 23 points in the opening half, after holding the Eagles scoreless for almost four minutes early in the game to build a 20-4 lead.
Sullinger started the 13-0 burst with a 3-pointer from the top of the circle, then hit another from well outside the arc on the right wing. After Dials hit two free throws, Stockman looped in a short jumper and then hit a 3-pointer.
"I thought we ran hard in transition," Matta said. "Our offense seems to flow a little bit better when the ball's moving. We fed the post effectively."
The Eagles missed all four of their shots from the field and had two turnovers during the Ohio State spurt.
Reed hit two 3-pointers to cut the Ohio State lead to 39-22 at the half but with Dials controlling the lane and his teammates hitting 5-of-11 3-pointers, the Buckeyes were never threatened in the final 20 minutes.