No. 16 Ohio State beats Penn State
Buckeyes hold off scrappy Nittany Lions
E. J. Liddell scored 19 points and No. 16 Ohio State defeated visiting Penn State, 61-56, Sunday.
Ohio State (11-4, 5-2 Big Ten) won despite shooting just 38.6% overall and going the final 5:07 without a basket.
“I didn’t think that Penn State would go away,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. “They have a strong will about them.”
The Nittany Lions (8-7, 3-4) trimmed multiple 10-point deficits in the second half and pulled within four with seven seconds to go.
Seth Lundy, Penn State’s leading scorer with an average of 14.1 points, missed his first game of the season. The school announced earlier in the day that he was out but didn’t give a reason.
“We missed him,” Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “We’re going to fight whether he’s with us or whether he’s without us. But we want him with us.”
Ohio State’s Kyle Young forced a steal with 1:25 remaining and sank a pair of free throws 20 seconds later to hold off the Nittany Lions. Jamari Wheeler made four free throws in the final minute.
“It was the play of the game,” Holtmann said of Young’s steal. “It was the difference in a lot of ways.”
District women
Penn State 90, Illinois 72: Penn State (8-7, 2-3 Big Ten) defeated Illinois (6-9, 1-3) at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions dominated the first half, scoring 49 points and relying on good defense. Makenna Marisa scored 25 points and Shay Hagans added 17 in the victory. Hagans’ previous season high came Nov. 28 when she scored 15 points in a loss to gainst Kent State in the final game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. Sunday’s win was the fourth time this season Hagans has scored 10 points or more in a game and the second time in the Lady
Lions’ past three games.
Robert Morris 50, UIC 44: Robert Morris (7-8, 5-5 Horizon League) salvaged a weekend split at UPMC Events Center, taking down the UIC Flames (2-11, 1-7). Nina Augustin scored nine points to lead the Colonials and Ashya Klopfenstein was a force on both ends of the court, posting eight points, eight rebounds and a season high five steals.