COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State was on the better end of a 56-35 disparity, scored 40 points in the paint and used a big first-half scoring effort to power past the UNC Pembroke men's basketball team, 81-63, in a preseason exhibition contest on Thursday evening in Value City Arena.
The contest marked the lone preseason exhibition contest for the Braves who will open regular season play next weekend at the PBC/SAC Challenge in Salisbury. The Buckeyes will open their 2018-19 campaign on Wednesday at instate rival, Cincinnati.
Senior
James Murray-Boyles scored 10 of his game-high 15 points in the second half to pace the Black & Gold, who also got an 11-point outing from sophomore
David Strother.
Tyrell Kirk finished his night with five points and a game-best 11 rebounds. Micah Potter tallied 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting to pace the offense for the Buckeyes, while Kaleb Wesson turned in a double-double with a dozen points and 10 boards.
Ohio State opened the second half with an 11-0 run and eventually led by as many as 30 points, 61-31, after an old-fashioned 3-point play by Micah Potter at the 12:19 mark. A running jumper by
Carson Mounce with just less than four minutes left, however, would spark the visitors on an 8-1 run, and UNCP eventually whittled its deficit down to 18 points, 79-61, on a layup from newcomer
Spencer Levi three minutes later.
The Buckeyes led by 11 points, 13-2, with just more than five minutes gone in the contest, and eventually pushed that advantage out to 23 points, 40-17, following a pair of free throws from Keyshawn Woods with 3:26 left before the break. UNCP took advantage of a scoreless drought by the hosts in the final 2-1/2 minutes of the period, however, and used a 3-pointer from Murray-Boyles and two free throws by Strother to make it a 42-24 game at the intermission.
UNCP will officially lift the lid on its 2018-19 schedule, Nov. 9-10, when the Braves travel to Salisbury for the Catawba-hosted PBC/SAC Challenge in Goodman Gym. The Black & Gold will face Newberry in its opening game on November 9, and will close out the event against the host on November 10 at 2 p.m.
