Lighty leads Buckeyes past CSU

By ELTON ALEXANDER

COLUMBUS — David Lighty put the twinkle in Ohio State’s Christmas on Tuesday night and coal in Cleveland State’s stocking with a career night that lifted the Buckeyes to a 72-59 victory over the Vikings in Value City Arena.

Lighty’s 30 points, with 22 coming in the second half, kept the Vikings out of reach of an upset and extended CSU’s losing streak to eight straight against Division I opponents. With leading scorer Norris Cole shooting blanks all night, the Vikings had no answer for the No. 17 Buckeyes.

Ohio State (10-2) eliminated the Vikings’ full-court pressure early as they ran with defensive rebounds and forced four early turnovers to build a quick 13-3 lead, forcing a CSU timeout.

Then the game suddenly became sloppy as eight of the next nine possessions ended with turnovers. The Vikings were the first team to snap out of the funk and scored nine straight points.

Ohio State went scoreless for better than five minutes while CSU (4-9) got back into the game, 13-12, before a Lighty 3-pointer ended the drought.

The Buckeyes were playing their fourth game without the services of do-everything swingman Evan Turner, who suffered a back injury Dec. 5. His absence, which could last up to eight weeks, has left a void in nearly every area for OSU. He was leading the Buckeyes in scoring (18.5), rebounding (11.4) and assists (6.0).

With 7:24 to play it was still a close game, 16-14, as OSU had scored just one basket in over nine minutes.

The Bucks finally showed a spark as a Lighty 3-pointer triggered a 7-2 run that gave OSU a 23-16 cushion. The lead grew to 10 points with 6-8 junior and Dallas Lauderdale waking the crowd up from the free-throw line. A 39.4 percent shooter from the line, Lauderdale made three straight, missed one, then made another. With continued cold shooting by the Vikings, OSU was able to take a 31-23 lead at halftime.

The Buckeyes struck quick to start the second half with five points inside of 40 seconds for a 35-23 lead. Reserve guard Jeremy Montgomery (23 points) delivered eight points in a 10-2 run by the Vikings to close within 40-36. Then Lighty made his presence felt.

Lighty saw Montgomery’s eight and raised it with 10 straight. A fast-break dunk breaking CSU’s pressure defense began the roll along with five free throws and a 3-pointer for a 50-38 Ohio State lead.

Montgomery answered with four more, but Lighty kept pouring it on with two more free throws, a driving layup and free throw for a 56-42 lead.

Cleveland State wouldn’t get any closer than 10 points.

The Buckeyes, who came into the game third in the nation in field goal percentage at 52.6, shot 48 percent from the field and hit half of their 14 3-point attempts.

The teams both had 31 rebounds and 16 turnovers.