Sophomore forward Devin Royal (21) hangs on the rim after he made a shot in the Buckeyes game against Evansville at the Shottenstein Center. The Buckeyes dominated the Aces 80-30 on Tuesday. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
A career-high 20-point, 12-rebound double-double from forward Devin Royal helped the Buckeyes soar past the Purple Aces.
Ohio State (3-1) defeated Evansville (1-4) 80-30 Tuesday night at Value City Arena behind the fewest points allowed by a Buckeye team since a 59-22 victory over Samford Nov. 29, 2008.
Royal said penetrating the Ace’s defense to get to the basket was key to his success.
“Just getting to the paint,” Royal said. “Just getting to the free throw line and being aggressive just helped a lot.”
Evansville jumped out to a lead just over two minutes into the game after center Michael Day nailed a corner 3-pointer to make it 5-2.
Midway through the half, the Buckeyes and Purple Aces were knotted up at nine a piece as Ohio State was shooting a mere 20% and Evansville at a dreadful 11.8%.
Guard John Mobley Jr. canned a 3-pointer and Royal sank six consecutive free throws to fuel a 12-0 run into the half.
Meanwhile, the Buckeye defense held Evansville scoreless for the final 5:51 of the first, allowing Ohio State to take a 28-14 advantage into the break.
Evansville finally got back on the board to open the second half with a jumper by forward Joshua Hughes.
With nine rebounds already, Ohio State forward Sean Stewart took a hard fall to the ground early in the second half and didn’t return.
“[Stewart] is being evaluated,” head coach Jake Diebler said. “While we’re on the subject of Sean, nine rebounds in 11 and a half minutes is really impressive.”
Hughes rejected a fastbreak layup by Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton, which led to a 3-pointer by Evansville guard Evan Haffner to cut the lead to 14.
A rebound off a missed three-pointer by guard Meechie Johnson was followed by an assist to guard Evan Mahaffey for a dunk, which gave the Buckeyes their largest lead of the game at 24.
With just under nine minutes to play, freshman forward Colin White knocked down a three-pointer to give him his first collegiate points. White finished the contest with six points and four rebounds, his best outing of the still-young season.
“It was a great feeling to see those go in,” White said.
Center Ivan Njegovan joined him and scored his first points as a Buckeye as well with two and a half minutes to go as Ohio State cruised to an 80-30 win.
The Buckeyes’ next game is set for 6 p.m. Friday against the Campbell Fighting Camels at Value City Arena.
