Loving, Williams propel Buckeyes

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Marc Loving scored 18 points and Kam Williams added 17 more to lift Ohio State to a 70-62 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday.

Jae’Sean Tate and Trevor Thompson each had double-doubles for OSU (7-1), combining for 22 points and 25 rebounds. Williams, getting his fifth straight start for the injured Keita Bates-Diop, shot 7 for 13 from the field, hitting 3 of 6 from long range.

Fairleigh Dickinson (2-5) trailed by just one point heading into halftime, and even had as much as a six-point lead in the first half. OSU opened the second half with an 18-2 run to stretch its advantage to 51-34 with 14:34 to go.

Thompson started the second half instead of freshman center Micah Potter, which made an immediate impact. However, following that run, the Knights continued to chip into the lead without changing much of their game plan.

In the final minutes, FDU cut the deficit to just six points before OSU’s JaQuan Lyle iced the game with two free throws.

“Initially, defensively, we were good . but we didn’t finish possessions,” OSU coach Thad Matta said. “Even some of the shots they missed were wide open. That’s just a sign of we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be.”