While Terence Dials played havoc to the Mercer Bears on the inside, Mother Nature played havoc on the outside as a winter storm battered Columbus. The junior captain scored a career-high 29 points and haul down 13 rebounds to lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to a 102-77 win over the Mercer in front of a sparse crowd of just 11,931 inside Value City Arena who braved the elements and navigated their way through the storm.

Four other players scored in double-digits including guard J.J. Sullinger who had 16. Ivan Harris added 13, Je’Kel Foster dropped in 11, and Tony Stockman chipped in 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Buckeyes, who have now won four straight games.

A close game in the beginning, Mercer actually led 24-19 midway through the first half, and the game was tied at 31 with 6:37 left. But Ohio State would go on a 11-0 run in the next two minutes to take a 42-31 lead after Dials scored driving to the rim. They would maintain the 11-point margin the rest of the half and lead 46-35 at intermission.

OSU would start out the first five minutes of the second half by scoring 16 of the games 22 points during that stretch to take a 62-41 lead. The closest Mercer would get the rest of the game was 83-70 with 6:19 remaining.

Jacob Skogen scored 19 points to lead Mercer.

Ohio State’s next game is Tuesday, December 28, when the Buckeyes host New Hampshire. Tip-off at the VCA is at 8 p.m.

Tags: Buckeye Basketball //