Lighty Nets 29 as Buckeyes Roll Over UNC Asheville, 96-49 – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – David Lighty scored No. 2 Ohio State’s first 16 points and sat out most of the second half while finishing with 29 points to lead the Buckeyes past UNC Asheville 96-49 on Tuesday night.
Lighty, who came in averaging 11.6 points, had 23 at halftime. He left with 10:23 left – one shy of his career high – and did not return.
William Buford added 14 points, Deshaun Thomas 13 and Jared Sullinger added nine points and 16 rebounds for the Buckeyes (11-0).
J.D. Primm had 15 points, D.J. Cunningham 13 and Chris Stephenson 11 for the Bulldogs (5-6).
Lighty hadn’t hit double figures in his past four games but had that covered in the opening 2:45.
He almost outscored the Bulldogs in the opening half by himself. He hit 9 of 12 shots from the field including 5 of 7 3-pointers as the Buckeyes led 48-24.
Down 26 points in the opening half, the Bulldogs scored 10 of the first 12 points in the second half to pull to 50-34, but then Lighty made a 3 and the Buckeyes were off and running again.
Asheville fell to 0-12 against Big Ten teams. The Bulldogs have played eight of their 11 games on the road, including an 80-69 loss at No. 24 North Carolina on Nov. 23 and an 87-72 defeat at No. 16 Georgetown on Nov. 27.
The 23-year-old Lighty is the Buckeyes’ elder statesman. He came in with the ”Thad Five” in the fall of 2006, a recruiting class that included three players (Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook) who would be taken in the first round of the NBA draft after their freshman season.
He missed most of the 2008-9 season with a broken bone in his foot, had his finest season a year ago and then re-broke a bone in the same foot this past spring, requiring more rehab.
The fifth-year senior from Cleveland was making his 99th start. He’s played at Ohio State with six first-round draft picks, played in the 2007 NCAA title game and his teams have won 106 games in which he’s played – just five off the school mark.
Lighty’s previous career high came 364 days earlier on Dec. 22, 2009, against Cleveland State. Against Asheville, he set career highs for field goals made (11), 3-pointers made (seven) and attempted (10) and he matched his most field goals attempted (16).
His work in the opening 20 minutes matched his career high for field goals in an entire game and eclipsed his previous best behind the arc by one.
He took control early, scoring all his team’s points as it broke to a 16-5 lead. He sliced across the lane to hit a hanging 10-footer, then hit four of his next five 3-point attempts before beating a defender on the right baseline and dunking one-handed.
The Buckeyes shot 59 percent from the field (20 of 34) in the opening half while Asheville had difficulty getting much of anything inside. Ohio State scored 22 of the 30 points in the paint.
The Buckeyes ended up shooting 57 percent from the field and making 11 of 24 3-pointers.
Asheville’s John Nwannunu suffered an injury in the final minutes and was helped to the dressing room.
