COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Virginia Tech men's basketball team still hasn't beaten a team from the Buckeye State this season.

At least this time the Hokies lost not to Bowling Green but to the actual Buckeyes.

Tech had an unsuccessful debut in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, falling to Ohio State 69-56 on Monday night at Value City Arena.

The Hokies (5-2), playing their first road game of the season, trailed 46-25 at halftime. They cut the lead to three points in the second half but came no closer.

"I was really disappointed by our competitive spirit in the first half," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "We really have nothing to be satisfied with.

"We've got to play with a little bit of an attitude and we did not do that until the second half. ... We need to play like we're the underdog and we're trying to establish ourselves, and that really ticks me off that we didn't play that way in the first half, and it's something we need to address."

The Buckeyes (3-0) shot 61.3 percent from the field in the first half, when they were 6-of-11 from 3-point range.

"The first half, we didn't pressure the basketball," Greenberg said. "We didn't guard the ball and they got penetration and kicks."

Trailing 52-34, the Hokies went on a 20-5 run to cut the deficit to 57-54 with 3:16 left.

They capped the run with three free throws by Zabian Dowdell and a Coleman Collins basket. Collins had 14 points and 14 rebounds.

"We were a lot more patient in the second half," said Dowdell, who had 15 points. "We took a lot of quick shots in the first half."

After a jumper by Ohio State's Je'Kel Foster, Jamon Gordon made a layup to trim the deficit to 59-56 with 2:37 left. The Buckeyes answered with a 10-0 run, with Ron Lewis scoring eight of those points.

"That was my chance to give us a big boost," Lewis said.

"We weren't as tough as we needed to be," Greenberg said.

A Lewis 3-pointer extended the lead to 62-56 with 2:10 to go. Dowdell was then called for an intentional foul for stopping Lewis on a fast-break layup, and Lewis made one of two free throws.

The Buckeyes got to keep the ball, and Matt Sylvester scored to give the Buckeyes a 65-56 lead with 1:18 left.

Lewis made a layup and foul shot for a 68-56 cushion with 54.7 seconds to go.

"We have to run a set to get a good shot, and I think we didn't do that," Dowdell said of Tech's late drought. "Blame that on me. I'm the point guard."

The Buckeyes shot 29.2 percent from the field in the second half, when they were 2-of-10 from long range.

"We played a lot harder in the second half," Dowdell said. "The first half, we were a bit passive."

Leading 27-21 with 7:17 to go in the first half, the Buckeyes went on a 16-2 run to build a 43-23 cushion with 2:04 remaining in the half. Ohio State finished off the run with 12 straight points, including two 3-pointers. All but the first two points of the 16-2 run came with Ohio State's best player, center Terence Dials, on the bench with two fouls.

J.J. Sullinger scored 14 points for Ohio State, which had four scorers in double figures.

Tech's Wynton Witherspoon, who missed the team's first six games with a fractured foot, played 14 minutes off the bench.

Virginia Tech MP FG FT R A F PT

Washington 36 4-6 1-2 4 0 4 9

Collins 36 6-16 2-4 14 1 4 14

Dowdell 38 4-10 5-5 2 2 2 15

Gordon 36 3-9 1-2 3 3 2 7

Sailes 24 1-2 1-3 0 3 0 3

Witherspoon 14 2-2 0-0 0 0 0 4

Diakite 4 1-2 0-0 2 0 2 2

Vassallo 8 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 2

Tucker 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

TEAM 3

Totals 200 22-49 10-16 28 10 15 56

Ohio State MP FG FT R A F PT

Sullinger 32 4-11 6-11 9 2 1 14

Sylvester 22 3-6 0-0 6 3 2 6

Dials 24 5-11 1-2 7 0 3 11

Butler 29 1-4 0-0 3 3 2 3

Foster 30 3-7 0-1 2 4 3 8

Harris 3 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2

Lewis 21 3-4 2-3 2 0 1 10

Mayes 23 5-9 0-0 2 2 1 13

Terwillinger 16 1-2 0-0 2 1 2 2

TEAM 1

Totals 200 26-55 9-17 34 15 15 69

Rebounds include team rebounds.

Score by periods:

Virginia Tech 25 31 -- 56

Ohio State 46 23 -- 69

Three point goals: VT 2-9 (Dowdell 2-4, Gordon 0-3, Sailes 0-1, Vassallo 0-1), Ohio St. 8-21 (Sullinger 0-2, Sylvester 0-2, Butler 1-4, Foster 2-6, Lewis 2-3, Mayes 3-4).

Turnovers: VT 13 (Dowdell 3, Sailes 3), Ohio State 13 (Sullinger 4).

Blocked shots: VT 3 (Three with 1), Ohio State 4 (Sullinger 2).

Steals: VT 8 (Sailes 3), Ohio St. 9 (Mayes 3).

Officials: Hartzell, Kitts, Corbett

Attendance: 13,218.