• New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.

#4 Ohio State 74, Eastern Kentucky 45 (Final)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
Yahoo

Eastern Kentucky (2-0) vs. (4) Ohio St. (3-0)

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN, STATS Senior Writer

Although Ohio State's celebrated freshman class has received plenty of attention, senior Ron Lewis has been the team's catalyst thus far.

Lewis looks to continue his hot start for the fifth-ranked Buckeyes when they host Eastern Kentucky on Friday.

Ohio State (3-0) won't see star center Greg Oden in action until January due to the freshman's right wrist injury. The Buckeyes are still using their other freshmen prominently, with point guard Mike Conley and swingman David Lighty starting the first three games.

Lewis has been the most consistent Buckeye, averaging 20.0 points to help Ohio State capture the season-opening BCA Classic. The 6-foot-4 guard, who mostly came off the bench last season, was named tournament MVP for his efforts.

"I think the MVP award is really overrated," he said. "It's a team game and everybody contributed. They've got to give somebody the trophy, but it goes to the team."

Lewis, who was named Big Ten player of the week, is 10-of-19 on 3-pointers this season while shooting 55.9 percent (19-of-34) for the year. He is also third on the team in rebounds with 6.3 per game.

Lewis has also provided tremendous leadership for his younger teammates. The Buckeyes held only a 33-30 halftime lead before pulling away for an 81-59 victory over Kent State on Sunday to capture the tournament.

"In this game we learned to not quit or to get down on ourselves," Lewis said. "We're going to make mistakes, but we just have to keep fighting to win."

Daequan Cook may be the freshman who's contributed the most for Ohio State this year despite coming off the bench. Cook is averaging 16.0 points on 18-of-36 shooting and has pulled down 7.3 boards per game.

Conley has 21 assists and 10 steals through three games and has meshed well with lone returning starter Jamar Butler in the backcourt.

The Buckeyes will be trying to improve to 12-0 all-time against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference when they face Eastern Kentucky (2-0). They're 2-0 against the Colonels, winning by an average of 39 points in 1999 and 2000.

Eastern Kentucky has opened with a pair of 17-point wins, including a 70-53 victory over East Tennessee State on Monday. Mike Rose scored 22 of his career-high 27 points to lead the Colonels.

Ohio State, which is 19-0 in nonconference home games under coach Thad Matta, is playing its first six games in Columbus before visiting No. 2 North Carolina on Nov. 29.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top