E.J. Liddell scored 23 points and Duane Washington Jr. posted 15 of his 21 points after halftime as No. 4 Ohio State stretched its winning streak to seven games with a 92-82 victory against Penn State on Thursday in University Park, Pa.
Ohio State (18-4, 12-4 Big Ten) shot 56.6 percent from the floor but didn't have it easy against the Nittany Lions, who led by eight with 14:53 to go. Despite foul trouble for big men Liddell and Zed Key, the Buckeyes later used a 15-0 run to surge ahead by eight before holding off another charge from Penn State (7-11, 4-10).
The Nittany Lions drew within 76-72 on an Izaiah Brockington layup with 5:10 to go but faded down the stretch en route to their third straight defeat.
Myreon Jones led four Penn State scorers in double figures with 18 points. Brockington had 12 points and seven assists, Seth Lundy had 12 points and Jamari Wheeler added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Eight of Penn State's losses have come by 10 points or fewer.
CJ Walker added 13 points and seven assists for the Buckeyes, who produced a season-best scoring output in conference play. Liddell shot 8-for-12 from the field while registering 20-plus points for the fifth time in nine games.
Justice Sueing grabbed six rebounds for Ohio State, which won the battle of the boards 32-29.
The Buckeyes led 47-43 at halftime after withstanding a Nittany Lions charge. After a Walker jumper put Ohio State ahead 22-12 with 12:21 to go before halftime, Penn State responded with a 19-9 run to tie the game at 31-all with 5:43 left in the first half. The teams traded runs after that, with the Buckeyes scoring 10 of the final 16 points before the break.
Then-host Ohio State edged Penn State 83-79 on Jan. 27 to win the schools' first meeting this season.
Ohio State leads the all-time series 38-18 and improved to 12-8 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
--Field Level Media
Ohio St. | Penn St. | |
E.J. Liddell 23 | Scoring | Myreon Jones 18 |
CJ Walker 7 | Assists | Izaiah Brockington 7 |
Justice Sueing 6 | Rebounds | Jamari Wheeler 7 |
E.J. Liddell 5 | Free Throws Made | Myreon Jones 7 |
Kyle Young 2 | Steals | Trent Buttrick 2 |
Kyle Young 2 | Blocks | Izaiah Brockington 1 |