Kanye Clary scored 19 points to help Penn State overcome an 18-point second-half deficit and defeat Ohio State 83-80 in University Park, Pa., on Saturday.
D’Marco Dunn had 16 points and Leo O’Boyle chipped in 15 for the Nittany Lions (5-5, 1-1 Big Ten), who ended a five-game losing streak.
Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes (8-2, 1-1) with 17 points, while Jamison Battle added 13. Ohio State had a seven-game winning streak snapped.
A second-chance bucket by Felix Okpara put Ohio State up 76-74, but Ace Baldwin Jr. countered with a basket to tie it with 58 seconds left in the game. An offensive foul on Okpara led to a triple by Baldwin with 32 seconds left for a 79-76 lead for Penn State.
Thornton made a pair of free throws and Zach Hicks made 1 of 2 from the line for Penn State to make it 80-78. The Nittany Lions went ahead 82-78 with seven seconds to go on two foul shots from Qudus Wahab.
Dale Bonner drove the lane for a basket to make it 82-80 and purposely missed the ensuing free throw. Clary was fouled getting the rebound and made one free throw with one second left for the final margin.
The Buckeyes led 55-37 with 15:31 to play before the Nittany Lions rallied to pull within 65-64 on a jumper by Hicks with 6:51 to play.
Roddy Gayle Jr. then nailed a 3-pointer to give the Buckeyes a bit of breathing room, and they soon extended the lead to 72-66, but Penn State would not go away. A trey by O’Boyle tied it 74-74 with 2:33 remaining.
The Buckeyes took a 41-29 halftime lead, as the Nittany Lions went the final 4:31 of the first half without a field goal, allowing Ohio State to score five unanswered points.
Scotty Middleton and Battle each had eight points at the break for the Buckeyes, who shot 53.6 percent (15 of 28) from the field. Penn State was 11 of 32 (34.4 percent).
–Field Level Media
