NCAA South: Ohio State cruises, 87-61, over Appalachian State

Saturday, March 18th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Scoonie Penn scored 23 points as Ohio State jumped on Appalachian State early and cruised to an 87-61 victory Friday night in the first round of the South Regional.

The third-seeded Buckeyes (23-6) scored on 11 of their first 12 possessions to take a 23-7 lead, and were never seriously threatened by the Southern Conference champion Mountaineers (23-9).

The lead was 21 points at the half and was never below 16 points in the second half.

Ohio State plays the winner of the Arkansas-Miami game in the second round Sunday.
Penn was 9-for-11 from the field, hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers.

Michael Redd added 21 points for Ohio State, and George Reese had 19. Tyson Patterson led Appalachian State with 15 points, and Rufus Leach with 11.

The Big Ten co-champion Buckeyes, looking for a return to the Final Four, were overpowering early. Penn and Redd hit from the outside and Ken Johnson dominated the middle. If the Buckeyes missed a shot, they scored off the rebound.

The Mountaineers seemed glued to the floor as Ohio State ran its sets to perfection and hit the open shots.

The Buckeyes shot 58 percent (34-of-59), including 9-of-15 on 3-point attempts. The Mountaineers shot just 39 percent.

Appalachian State righted itself slightly after Ohio State's early surge, and cut the lead to 27-13 on a 3-pointer. But the Buckeyes answered with an 11-0 run for their largest lead of the game, 25 points at 38-13 with 7:10 left in the half.