Smith has 19 as No. 3 OSU rolls over Bryant 86-48
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Lenzelle Smith Jr. scored 19 points and No. 3 Ohio State pulled away early to beat Bryant 86-48 on Wednesday night.
Amir Williams added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes (9-0).
It was an early round game in the Blackrock Gotham Classic which will conclude on Dec. 21 with the Buckeyes meeting Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden.
Dyami Starks had 16 points for Bryant (6-5), which was playing its second game in three nights. The Bulldogs lost at Notre Dame 70-59.
The Bulldogs hung around with the Buckeyes for a while, but then went scoreless over the last 5:25 of the first half and watched the Buckeyes close on an 8-0 run to take a 43-23 lead.
Ohio State then scored the first five points of the second half before Garvin's layup ended a drought of 6:40.
Smith hit 6 of 9 shots from the field including half of his four 3-point attempts. He had eight rebounds and three assists.
Starks came in averaging 22.1 points a game, eighth-best in Division I. He had scored at least 20 in five games and 30 in three others.
Top-ranked Wildcats beat Aggies 74-48
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Brandon Ashley scored 15 points, Kaleb Tarczewski added 14 and No. 1 Arizona shook off a slow start to dominate New Mexico State 74-48 on Wednesday night.
Arizona (10-0) labored out of the gate in its first game as the nation's top-ranked team before pulling away from the Aggies for another impressive all-around victory.
The Wildcats shot 52 percent, dominated the glass (38-22) and held their fifth opponent under 60 points to open 10-0 for the second consecutive season.
T.J. McConnell had nine points and six assists while orchestrating Arizona's offense, and do-it-all freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson provided a big lift with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Daniel Mullings had 18 points to lead New Mexico State (7-5), which made 2 of 11 from 3-point range and shot 33 percent to lose its fourth game in a row.
No. 4 Wisconsin beats Milwaukee 78-52
MADISON, Wis. -- Ben Brust scored 18 points and Frank Kaminsky added 16 as No. 4 Wisconsin remained undefeated with a 78-52 victory against in-state rival Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
Sam Dekker and Traevon Jackson scored 12 points each for Wisconsin (11-0).
Kyle Kelm scored 17 points to lead Milwaukee (9-3), while Matt Tiby added 11.
The Badgers took control in the first half after shaking off some early shooting troubles. Brust kept the Badgers afloat during their struggles, hitting his first six shots, including four from behind the 3-point line.
Up 22-13 more than midway through the first half, the rest of the team found its stroke. Wisconsin reeled off a 23-7 run that featured five 3-pointers by five Badgers to blow the game open.
