Keita Bates-Diop scored a career-high 24 points and Ohio State extended its winning streak to four with a 73-57 victory over South Carolina State on Sunday night at Value City Area in Columbus, Ohio, in its final game before the start of Big Ten play.

Bates-Diop, a sophomore forward, made a career-best five 3-pointers in nine attempts and finished with 10 rebounds for a double-double as the Buckeyes (8-5) won for the sixth time in their last seven games. They open conference play at home on Wednesday night against Minnesota.

Bates-Diop nailed 5 of 7 shots from 3-point range in the first half while his teammates were 0 of 8 behind the arc and had 17 points at the break to help the Buckeyes grab a 34-21 lead. He finished 8 of 14 from the field.

South Carolina State (5-9) opened the second half with a 6-0 run and closed within seven three times before Ohio State pulled away.

Buckeyes sophomore guard Kam Williams added 12 points and sophomore center Trevor Thompson had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Ohio State dominated smaller South Carolina State on the glass with a 50-32 rebound advantage and its defense forced the Bulldogs into 32.9 percent shooting from the field (23 of 70).

Senior guard Gabriel McCray led South Carolina State, which lost its fourth straight game, with 17 points and sophomore guard Ed Stephens had 11.

South Carolina State hung with Ohio State for the first 11 minutes of the game before Thompson made four throws on consecutive possessions to put the Buckeyes ahead to stay. A 14-2 run allowed Ohio State to take control and it led by as many as 15 points in the opening half.

The Bulldogs made their first three 3-point shots but missed their last eight in the first half and finished 4 of 14 from behind the arc.