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Ohio State Buckeyes Grind Out a Home Win Against an Always Challenging Penn State

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Basketball

In a typical Big Ten slugfest, No. 16 Ohio State had the last punch, outlasting visiting Penn State 61-56 on Sunday afternoon.

The Buckeyes have swept the season series with Penn State (8-7, 3-4) and improve to 11-4 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten play.

E.J. Liddell again led the Buckeyes with 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Zed Key was the second Buckeye in double figures with 10 points while former Nittany Lion Jamari Wheeler added nine points, four rebounds and two steals.

Eugene Brown III came off the bench to score six points and Kyle Young grabbed seven rebounds and had a crucial late steal with under 90 seconds to play.

The Buckeyes won the game with their defense and rebounding. OSU frustrated Penn State into 39.6 percent shooting for the game which was just the second game this season that the Nittany Lions failed to shoot above 40 percent. The Buckeyes also won the battle on the boards 37-30 as Penn State came in with a +4.9 mark on the boards per game.

Ohio State used a 15-3 run early in the game to turn a 10-4 deficit into a 19-13 lead and would never trail the rest of the game. Liddell had nine of his 19 points in the first half and the Buckeyes led 27-22 at the break after holding PSU to under 30 percent shooting.

In the second half, Ohio State took as much as a 10-point lead on a couple of occasions but was never able to put Penn State away. The Nittany Lions had a couple of runs that cut the deficit to four points, the last of which came with less than 10 seconds remaining. But key defensive stops down the stretch helped seal the victory.

Notes

  • E.J. Liddell has scored in double figures in every game this season and now has eight games of three or more assists
  • Eugene Brown III’s six points were his most points since scoring 12 vs. Bowling Green on Nov. 15
  • Zed Key scored 10 points and the Buckeyes are now 12-1 when he scores in double figures
  • Penn State shot under 40 percent for just the second time this season and the first since shooting .373 at UMass on Nov. 15.
  • The Buckeyes were out-shot (percentage wise) for just the third time this season
  • The 56 points allowed were the second fewest allowed in a game this season behind 55 against Wisconsin on Dec. 11
  • The Buckeyes shot a season-high 36 free throws (24-of-36)
  • Ohio State is now 21-5 all-time against Penn State in Columbus and 40-18 overall.
  • The Buckeyes have won swept the season series with Penn State each of the last two seasons

Up Next

The Buckeyes will remain at home this week and host IUPUI on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on BTN. The game was added to the schedule on Jan. 10. On Saturday, the Buckeyes will complete the short three-game home stand on Saturday by hosting Nebraska.