Buford helps Buckeyes beat Wolverines
2/27/2010COLUMBUS – Libbey product William Buford scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the Ohio State Buckeyes move a step closer to a potential Big Ten championship Saturday by beating Michigan 66-55 at Value City Arena.
Ohio State improves to 13-4 in the conference, and hosts Illinois in its final Big Ten game on Tuesday. The Buckeyes trail only Big Ten leader Purdue (12-3), which hosts Michigan State (11-4) today.
Ohio State jumped out to an early nine-point lead on the Wolverines (13-15, 6-10), but Michigan worked its way back and led 33-32 at the half. The Buckeyes took control early in the second half, and led by 10 with about 12 minutes left in the game following a dunk by Dallas Lauderdale.
The lead stayed close to double-figures the rest of the way. Evan Turner added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Buckeyes (23-7), while Lauderdale had 14 points.
Michigan, which had beaten the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor in early January, was led by Zack Novak, DeShawn Sims, and Darius Morris with 11 points each.
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