Ohio State ousts Cincinnati


March 23, 2012 at 12:12a.m.

Ohio State ousts Cincinnati

BOSTON (AP) — Deshaun Thomas scored 26 points and Jared Sullinger had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead second-seeded Ohio State to an 81-66 victory over No. 6 seed Cincinnati on Thursday night, putting the Buckeyes in the East Regional finals.

Aaron Craft added 11 points — all in the second half — with five assists and six steals, taking charge during a 17-1 second-half run that turned a four-point deficit into a double-digit lead.

Cashmere Wright scored 18 and Sean Kilpatrick had 15 for the Bearcats, who were attempting to match Big East rival Syracuse by beating a Big Ten opponent to advance to the round of eight. The top-seeded Orange advanced earlier Thursday by beating fourth-seeded Wisconsin at the TD Garden. It’s the first trip to the regional finals for Ohio State (30-7) since 2007, when it lost in the national championship game to Florida.