OSU BASKETBALL Buckeyes rout Houston, advance to tourney final

Terence Dials had a game-high 12 rebounds for OSU.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Ivan Harris scored a career-high 19 points and Tony Stockman added 18 as Ohio State beat Houston 78-61 Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Guardians Classic.
Ohio State (4-0) will play the winner of the Missouri-Creighton game on Wednesday night for the championship.
Harris connected on 9-of-11 field-goal attempts. Harris, a 6-8 sophomore forward from Springfield, Ohio, who started only two games last season, had scored just 12 points in the Buckeyes' first three games. Harris' previous high was 13 points on Nov. 24, 2003, against San Diego State.
Play by play
After the two teams traded early baskets, Ohio State scored 19 unanswered points to open up a 21-2 advantage with 13:20 left in the first half. Houston (2-2) never threatened after that.
Harris scored 10 of the Buckeyes' first 21 points, while Stockman had eight points.
The Cougars went 5:45 without a point after their first basket, going 0-for-5 and committing three turnovers in that span. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, came out sizzling, making 11 of their 12 shots, with Harris making five straight baskets in that stretch.
Ohio State led 44-30 at halftime after the Buckeyes outscored the Cougars 18-8 in the paint in the first half.
Houston scored six straight points early in the second half to trim Ohio State's lead to 46-36 after a Ramon Dyer field goal with 17:47 left. Harris answered that with a 3-pointer, giving the Buckeyes a 49-36 lead, and the Cougars could never get within 10 points.
Valley connection
Terence Dials, a Boardman High graduate, dominated the boards with a game-high 12 rebounds for Ohio State, while senior guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatham had nine assists.
The Cougars were led by Dyer with 12 points. Andre Owens added 10 points.
The two teams were meeting for the first time since the 1968 NCAA Final Four, when Ohio State won 89-85 in the third-place game.