Battle scores 17 to lead Ohio State to 78-36 victory over New Orleans

COLUMBUS (AP) — Jamison Battle hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points to lead Ohio State to a 78-36 romp over New Orleans on Thursday night. Battle made 6 of 12 shots but just 1 of 4 from inside the arc for the Buckeyes (10-2). He added nine rebounds and four assists. Zed Key scored 16 on 6-for-8 shooting with five rebounds. Bruce Thornton scored 11, while Dale Bonner pitched in with 10 points, five rebounds and two steals off the bench. Battle had eight points and seven rebounds to help Ohio State take a 31-17 lead into halftime. The Buckeyes shot just 36.4% from the floor and made 3 of 12 from 3-point range, but they held New Orleans to 6-for-26 shooting (23.1%), including 1 of 9 from beyond the arc. Jordan Johnson, who came into the game averaging 23.1 points per game for the Privateers, missed all seven of his first-half shots. Ohio State pushed its lead to 41-21 on a layup by Bruce Thornton with 14:33 left to play. The Buckeyes' lead grew to 73-33 on two free throws by Colby Baumann with 2:38 to go. Johnson led the Privateers (5-7) with eight points on 1-for-10 shooting. He was 6 for 6 at the free-throw line. New Orleans shot 25% from the floor (12 of 48), made 1 of 11 from distance and 11 of 21 at the foul line. The two schools played once before — a 74-66 OSU victory during the 1989-90 season. The Buckeyes are 6-0 all time against the Southland Conference. Battle, who played two seasons at George Washington and two more at Minnesota before transferring to OSU, has made at least one 3-pointer in every game this season. He needs 12 more to top 300 for his career. Ohio State returns to action on Dec. 30 when it hosts West Virginia.