Right: The Big “O,” Othello Hunter, slams home two of his 16 points during OSU’s first round NIT match-up against UNC-Asheville.
AP Photo/Terry Gilliam

Ohio State, led by Jamar Butler’s 21 points and 10 assists, advanced to the second round of the 2008 MasterCard National Invitational Tournament by defeating the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs 84-66 in front of a paltry 7,117 fans at Value City Arena, Tuesday night.

The Buckeyes will play either California or New Mexico at St. John Arena, next Monday, due to a scheduling conflict at the Schottenstein Center.

Ah, nothing like trying to figure out where the basketball court is when the floor is setup for volleyball. And judging by Tuesday nights attendance, OSU could play at the Fairgrounds Coliseum, the Buckeyes’ former home from 1920-1956.

Granted, students are on spring break, but just a few miles to the south, 14,270 fans attended the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 3-0 win over the Calgary Flames.

I’m sure plenty of good seats are still available for Monday night’s game.

Ohio State was in control the entire game, and never trailed at any point. There were no lead changes, and UNC-Asheville tied the game only twice early in the first half.

With 12:42 left in the opening period and the game tied at 14-all, the Buckeyes went on a 13-2 run fueled by two, 3-pointers from Butler, and David Lighty contributed five points as his short jumper with 10:07 remaining put OSU ahead 27-16.

UNC-A fought back by going on scoring run of their own with 7-foot-7 junior center Kenny George capping off a 12-2 spurt on an eight-foot jumper in the lane, even though he clearly shuffled his feet before getting the ball airborne. George’s bucket trimmed OSU lead down to 29-28 with 6:43 to go in the first half.

But the Buckeyes closed out the first 20 minutes of action by outscoring the Bulldogs 16-7 and headed into the locker room at intermission leading 45-35.

The closest Asheville came in the second half was six points, trailing Ohio State 53-47 after a dunk by George with 14:36 left to play in the game.

A three-pointer by Butler with 12:03 remaining put the Buckeyes ahead 60-49, and from that point, Ohio State held a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

The Buckeyes biggest lead of the game was at the 5:28 mark when Othello Hunter tipped-in Lighty’s miss to put OSU up 76-57.

Along with Butler’s 21, three other Buckeyes scored in double figures with Hunter chipping in 16, Kosta Koufos added 15, and Lighty scored 13 points.

Reid Augst led the Bulldogs with 20 points.

Ohio State shot a blistering 56.3 percent (36-for-64) from the field, and was 10 of 21 (47.6%) from beyond the arc.

UNC-Asheville also shot very well from the floor, connecting on 27 of 52 shots (51.9%) and was 8-for-18 (44.4%) from three-point range.

The difference in the game was that the Buckeyes forced 21 turnovers and cashed them in for 26 points, while only committing nine.

Tags: Buckeye Basketball //