Tuesday, January 31, 2006
He scored 24 points as the Buckeyes rolled over Florida A & amp;M, 95-53.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- J.J. Sullinger matched his career high with 24 points -- scoring 19 in the first half -- to lead No. 20 Ohio State to a 95-53 victory over Florida A & amp;M on Monday night.
The Buckeyes (15-3) moved to 11-0 against non-conference teams this season, the first year they've gone unbeaten outside of the Big Ten since the 1990-91 team went 10-0 while winning its first 17 games.
Sullinger, who virtually carried the Buckeyes in the first half, finished 8-of-12 from the field, matched his career high with four 3-pointers in six attempts and was perfect on four free throws. He also had seven rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.
Other Buckeyes
Je'Kel Foster added 18 points, Ivan Harris 15 and Matt Sylvester 14.
The Buckeyes hit just four of their first 17 3-point shots but made two in the final 30 seconds of the half and finished 13-of-36 from behind the arc.
Rome Sanders led Florida A & amp;M (10-11) with 15 points. Among A & amp;M's road losses this season are to Indiana, Georgia, Xavier, Northern Iowa and Florida.
The Rattlers were making their first appearance in Columbus since the first round of the NCAA tournament two years ago. They hung around with top-seeded Kentucky -- trailing by just six points with 13 minutes remaining -- before wilting down the stretch to lose by 20.
Ohio State looked tired and played with little spark in the first half, two days after a 67-62 loss at Iowa that cost it a share of the lead in the Big Ten.
Kept team rolling
Sullinger was the lone Buckeye who didn't look listless. He hit six of eight shots from the field before halftime, including three of four 3-pointers. Shooting .495 at the free throw line on the year, he made all four foul shots and also had three rebounds and two assists.
Ohio State held a 22-19 lead before Sullinger hit his third 3-pointer and then made two free throws. He also had two points in a 7-0 run near the end of the half, helping the Buckeyes to a 41-29 lead at the break.
The Buckeyes opened the second half playing harder on defense and moving the ball better on offense. Foster hit two 3-pointers and had a three-point play, Sullinger made another 3 and Ron Lewis scored on a fastbreak dunk following an assist pass off the backboard by Foster, increasing the lead to 59-36 in little more than five minutes.
Ohio State shot 58 percent in the second half and finished at 52 percent compared to A & amp;M's 33 percent.
The victory moved coach Thad Matta to 35-15 in his first 50 games at Ohio State, the third-best record over that span at the school. Fred Taylor and Randy Ayers each went 36-14.
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