John Mobley Jr. scored 25 points while Andrija Jelavic and Amare Bynum keyed second-half surge to help Ohio State down Youngstown State 89-65 in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday.
Jelavic, a Croatian in his second college game, scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half and Bynum, who had seven first-half points, finished with 15. The duo also combined for 17 rebounds, as Jelavic snared a game-high nine.
Justin Pippen added 10 for the Buckeyes (1-1).
Japhet Moupadele led the Penguins (1-1) with 16 points, Columbus native Dom Aekins scored a career-high 13 and Linus Holmstrom contributed 12.
Youngstown State trailed 38-33 at the half but would not go away and was down 53-52 with 10:32 to play when Jelavic (seven points) and Bynum (six) took over for a 13-0 run. Bynum’s slam capped the run and gave the hosts a 66-52 lead with 7:56 remaining.
The Buckeyes outscored the Penguins 51-32 in the second half.
An Aekens alley-oop ended the run but Mobley came right back with a 3-pointer and a 69-54 advantage.
Youngstown State of the Horizon League showed its intent early that there was no awe factor in playing a Big Ten team.
The Buckeyes held an 8-4 led and looked to pull away but a 6-0 run by the Penguins was capped by a 3-pointer from Holmstrom.
It was back and forth until the Penguins scooted to 30-28 lead with four minutes left on a Jermaine Coleman triple, precipitating a timeout by Ohio State coach Jake Diebler.
After the pause, Pippen committed the Buckeyes’ eighth turnover and Bynum at the other end fouled Coleman as he attempted a 3-pointer. He made one of three free throws for the Penguins’ largest lead, 31-28.
From there the Buckeyes awoke and went on a 10-2 spurt to end the half. Bynum made a foul shot before Mobley’s layup on the break, the Buckeyes first field goal in 5:27, tied it 31-31.
Jimmie Williams made a pair from the foul line to give Ohio State the lead for good.
Pippen’s trey, the Buckeyes first of the game in eight tries, made it 36-31. Youngstown’s Jaiden Haynes’ bucket made it 36-33 but Mobley countered with two free throws to end the scoring with 1:06 left.
The Buckeyes feasted at the foul line, hitting 29 of 34 (85.3%), while the Penguins made 10 of 17 (58.8%).