Andre Wesson scores 19, Ohio State men breeze past Morgan State

One day removed from Thanksgiving, No. 10 Ohio State dispensed with one of its final cupcakes with ease.

Against a visiting Morgan State team that had earned two of its three wins against non-Division I opposition, the Buckeyes enjoyed a final tune-up before a significantly more challenging December schedule with a 90-57 win against the Bears on Friday night at Value City Arena.

It will get harder from here. Up next: Ohio State’s first road game of the season, and it comes Wednesday night against No. 6 North Carolina.

But Friday, as has usually been the case to this point, the Buckeyes (7-0) took control early and didn’t let up. After trading early baskets with the Bears (3-6), Ohio State answered a Davis Stanley Jr. drive with a pair of free throws from Kaleb Wesson after he rebounded his own miss.

Those two came with 12:52 left in the half. They made it a 16-8 Buckeyes lead and started a 19-3 run that was finished when CJ Walker hit a pull-up jumper from near the foul line with 7:18 left that made it 33-11. Senior Andre Wesson, who had been limited to 21 points in four games due to injury, had nine during the run including consecutive threes and three free throws after being fouled on another attempt.

At the half, it was a 45-18 lead after the Buckeyes led by as many as 30 points. The 18 points were the second-fewest allowed in a half this season by Ohio State, which held Stetson to 14 during the first half of an 86-51 win three games ago.

Ten different Buckeyes saw at least six minutes of first-half action. Together, the Wesson brothers had outscored the Bears 20-18, with Andre totaling what was already a season-high 11 points in 13 minutes off the bench.

The senior led the Buckeyes with a perfect shooting night: He finished with 19 points on 4-of-4 shooting, all three-pointers, and a 7-of-7 effort from the free-throw line. He also had a season-high seven rebounds in 20 minutes of action. His brother finished with 13 points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes and was perfect on six free throws.

Ohio State is 7-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season, when it won its first 15 games.

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy