The frontcourt duo of Othello Hunter and Kosta Koufos both recorded double-doubles with 15 points and 12 rebounds each as the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Division II Ashland Eagles 88-59 in an exhibition game at Value City Arena, Wednesday night.

Koufos, a 7-foot freshman, was 7-of-10 shooting from the field, while Hunter, a 6-foot-8 senior, was 7-of-9 from the floor.

Ashland, who had just one player 6-foot-8 or taller, was dominated on the inside by an Ohio State team that features five players that height or more.

The Buckeyes outscored the Eagles 56-17 in the paint and Ohio State outrebounded Ashland 44-31 while forcing 19 turnovers.

But the Buckeyes got off to a slow start, and with 14:44 left in the first half, actually trailed the Eagles 12-9 following a three-pointer by Brett Bartlett.

From that point, Ohio State went on a 13-0 run that was started when sophomore backup point guard P.J. Hill drained a triple, and ended on an offensive putback by Hunter with 8:39 remaining that put the Buckeyes ahead 22-12.

The Buckeyes largest lead of the first half came when 6-foot-8, 260-pound freshman forward Dallas Lauderdale managed a steal, then scored on a layup as he was fouled in the act of shooting. His conventional three-point play gave Ohio State a 43-20 advantage with 2:35 left until intermission.

Sophomore guard David Lighty was the only other Buckeye to score in double figures with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Lauderdale added eight points, and senior point guard Jamar Butler chipped in seven points and a team-high seven assists.

As a team, Ohio State shot 56.3 percent (36-of-64) from the field, but was just 5-of-18 from beyond the arc, and a dismal 11-of-20 from the foul line.

Bartlett led Ashing with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point range.

Ohio State has one more exhibition game as the Buckeyes host Division II Findlay Oilers, next Tuesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm ET, and it will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Tags: Buckeye Basketball //