Craft paces No. 4 Ohio State past Albany
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Aaron Craft, Deshaun Thomas and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. combined for 57 points, as No. 4 Ohio State cruised to a season- opening 82-60 victory over Albany at Value City Arena.
Craft finished with 20 points and seven assists, Thomas added 19 points and Smith netted 18 for the Buckeyes (1-0), who shot 57 percent from the field and 12-of-20 from three-point range to win going away.
Ohio State's scheduled opener against Marquette on Friday aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown in Mount Pleasant, SC was canceled due to condensation on the court.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The guys were itching to play a game," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said.
Mike Black paced Albany (1-1) with 20 points.
The Great Danes, who opened the season with a 69-66 win over Duquesne on Friday, hung tough for the first 15 minutes and were ahead, 23-22, before Thomas took over.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The junior forward, one of three returning starters from last season's Final Four squad, scored nine points in a three-possession span late in the first half, hitting two from behind the arc around a three-point play the conventional way.
His second 3-pointer gave the Buckeyes a 32-23 lead, and Smith's late three resulted in a 39-25 halftime cushion.
Thomas and Craft each hit from long range early in the second half, and Smith's bucket yielded a 47-27 lead less than three minutes in.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The closest Albany got from there was 15.
"When we face a team like Ohio State, we have very little room for error. Ultimately, we couldn't knock down enough shots," Albany head coach Will Brown said.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The was the first-ever meeting between the programs ... Ohio State improved to 92-18 in home openers, including 10 straight wins under Matta ... The Buckeyes scored 18 more points in the paint (34-16).