Brandon Noel scores 17, Ohio overcomes slow start to beat Appalachian State 75-53

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Brandon Noel had 17 points and 11 rebounds, John Mobley Jr. added 16 points, and Ohio State overcame a cold-shooting start on Tuesday night and beat Appalachian State 75-53.

Bruce Thornton, who scored a career-high 38 Friday in a 94-68 win over Purdue Fort Wayne, had 13 points for Ohio State (3-0).

The Buckeyes missed 12 of their first 13 shots and Andrin Njock hit a 3-pointer that gave Appalachian State (2-2) a 12-point lead with 8:13 left in the first half. Ohio State started the game 0-for-11 shooting from behind the arc before Noel, who finished 8 of 10 from the field, made a 3 with 5:55 to go until halftime that sparked an 18-2 run. Thornton capped the spurt with a corner 3-pointer as time expired that gave OSU — which made 2 of 16 from deep in the first half — a 30-25 lead at the intermission.

Mobley scored eight consecutive points in the closing run and his free throws with 33 seconds left that made it 27-25 gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the game.

Ohio State scored 27 of the first 34 second-half points, which included a 16-0 run that made it 57-32 with 9:24 to play.

Kasen Jennings led the Mountaineers with 12 points.

The Buckeyes finished 22 of 54 (41%) from the field, 7 of 27 (26%) from 3-point range, and shot 75% from the free-throw line, where they outscored Appalachian State 24-5.

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