National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ohio St. 81, Florida 74
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Where: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Officials: # Mike Eades, # Tom Eades, # Ted Valentine
Attendance: 17787

William Buford scored a game-high 21 points and fueled a key second-half surge as No. 3 Ohio State held off No. 8 Florida for an 81-74 home victory.

After trailing by as many as eight in the early going, the Buckeyes (2-0) scored the first five points of the second half to build a 40-32 cushion. Buford later scored seven during a 9-2 spurt that extended Ohio State's lead to 62-46 with 7:55 to go.

The Gators (1-1) got as close as five in the final minute when Kenny Boynton hit two 3-pointers just eight seconds apart, but the Buckeyes — who made 27 of 34 free throws — were able to close it out at the line.

Florida was 11-for-22 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Buckeyes 36-27, but Ohio State limited its mistakes, turning the ball over just seven times.

Jared Sullinger finished with 16 points for Ohio State, while Deshaun Thomas added 15. Brad Beal paced four Florida players in double figures with 17 points.
Top Game Performances
 
Florida   Ohio St.
Bradley Beal 17 Scoring William Buford 21
Erving Walker 4 Assists Aaron Craft 7
Patric Young 12 Rebounds William Buford 6
Patric Young 4 Free Throws Made Jared Sullinger 8
Bradley Beal 1 Steals Aaron Craft 3
Erik Murphy 2 Blocks William Buford 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Florida 74 44.6 11-22 13-21 11 34 4 3
Ohio St. 81 47.2 4-15 27-34 16 25 2 8