UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A scoring run for the fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes midway through the second period was just enough to lift them past a tenacious Penn State squad, 92-82, on Thursday in the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions (7-11, 4-10) gave the Buckeyes (18-4, 12-4) all they could handle, but Ohio State used a 15-0 run in the second half to grab the advantage.
"I think we matched up pretty well against them, we were a shot away from beating them at their place and then tonight, we were a couple stops away from possibly beating them here," said Penn State interim head coach Jim Ferry. "In the Big Ten, sometimes it's about matchups and I think we match up pretty well to this team. You have to give them credit, they are really playing at a high level and playing very well…I thought we really showed signs of tonight of hopefully getting back to who we are, we showed some signs both offensively and defensively. They made a couple more plays than we did."
Trailing 47-43, four different Nittany Lions scored coming out of the break to spark an 18-7 run to take a 61-54 lead with 14:04 to play in the game. Ohio State struggled to the 16-minute mark, going 1-6 from field which allowed Penn State go up by one, 50-49. Two triples by Lundy and baskets by Trent Buttrick and Sam Sessoms got them to 61.
Down 61-54, the Buckeyes responded with the 15-0 run despite missing leading scorer E.J. Liddell who was on the bench due to foul trouble in the second half.
Ohio State started to get back on track with a layup and 3-pointer before senior forward John Harrar picked up his third foul at 12:56. The Buckeyes tied the game at 61 with 12:32 to go and then forged ahead to take a 69-61 lead after Harrar left the game after being called for his fourth foul. Five free throws over the next two minutes put the Penn State back in the scoring column at 72-66 and then added two more by Jones for a 74-66 deficit.
A charge taken by junior guard Myles Dread and two baskets by Izaiah Brockington brought Penn State within four, 76-72. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jones and junior guard Myles Dread, kept the Nittany Lions within two possessions, but a Duane Washington Jr, layup and converted free throw pushed the Buckeye lead to nine, 88-79.
Fouls by the Nittany Lions put Ohio State back on the line and the Nittany Lions tried to take advantage of quick offensive possessions after Buckeye misses in the final 45 seconds.
Penn State was limited to just four field goals in the game's final six minutes of action. Despite the limited field goal numbers in the game's final minutes, the Nittany Lions trimmed the Ohio State lead to five following a Myreon Jones 3-pointer with 3:24 to play.
Liddell finished with a game-high 23 points and Jones finished with a team-high 18 points for Penn State.
A red-hot shooting performance from both teams lit up the Bryce Jordan Center scoreboard in the opening stanza.
The Buckeyes shot 65.4 percent from the field in the first half making six treys in the opening half. Penn State was equally impressive on the offensive end, knocking down seven triples and shooting 53.6 percent from the field.
With 7:35 to play in the first half and Ohio State leading by nine, the Nittany Lions connected on three treys to tie the game at 31-31.
The seesaw scoring continued to the final first half horn. The Buckeyes hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 47-43 lead into the locker rooms. Senior guard Jamari Wheeler led Penn State with 11 points at the half.
The Nittany Lions travel to No. 11 Iowa Sunday for their next Big Ten matchup. The game is set for 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
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