JaQuan Lyle, Jae'Sean Tate and Kam Williams combined for 44 points to lead unbeaten Ohio State to a 66-38 victory over Western Carolina on Monday night in a nonconference game at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Lyle, coming off a 21-point performance in a win over Providence last Thursday, paced all scorers with 17 points, making 6 of 11 shots from the field and all 5 of 6 free throws. He added a team-best five assists.

Tate scored 14 points and collected a team-best 11 rebounds.

Williams, replacing injured junior forward Keita Bates-Diop in the starting lineup, finished with 13 points but was only 3 of 10 from the field.

Trevor Thompson also reached double figures in scoring for Ohio State (4-0) with 10 points and contributed eight rebounds.

Haboubacar Mutombo, a 6-foot-5 junior guard and the nephew of former NBA standout big man Dikembe Mutombo, led Western Carolina (1-4) with 11 points.

The Buckeyes gradually pulled away in the second half in the blowout, holding Western Carolina to 27.5 percent shooting (14 of 51) from the field overall and forcing 20 turnovers.

Ohio State was without Bates-Diop, who left a 72-67 victory over Providence on Thursday with a sprained ankle.

The Buckeyes shot out to a 32-18 lead at halftime. Lyle and Tate dominated the scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the first 20 minutes.

Western Carolina is coached by veteran Larry Hunter, a former head coach at Ohio University and at Division III Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.

Monday's game was the first of three games for the Buckeyes during a busy week. They are at home on Wednesday night to face Jackson State and play host to Marshall on Friday night.