No. 4 Ohio State sends slumping Penn State to another loss

STATE COLLEGE — E.J. Liddell scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half, and No. 4 Ohio State outlasted Penn State, 92-82, on Thursday night.

Duane Washington scored 21 points and C.J. Walker added 13 for the Buckeyes (18-4, 12-4 Big Ten), who used a 15-0 run midway through the second half to take control and win their seventh straight.

Myreon Jones led Penn State with 18 points. Izaiah Brockington and Seth Lundy each scored 12 points, and Jamari Wheeler added 11 for the Nittany Lions (7-11, 4-10), who lost their third straight.

The Buckeyes led 47-43 at halftime after shooting 65% from the floor in the first half. They made nine straight baskets at one point, and six Buckeyes made shots in the opening 10 minutes.

But they were forced to play a smaller lineup for the early moments of the second half and fell behind after Lundy got hot. The Penn State forward made three 3-pointers in a 2:14 span to put the Nittany Lions up 59-51 with 14:53 to play.

But Washington picked up the pace as Liddell was sitting courtside in foul trouble. The Buckeyes’ guard scored seven points in 1:24 and drained a 3-pointer to give Ohio State a 72-64 lead with 8:58 left.

Penn State cut the deficit to four with 5:10 remaining, but couldn’t get any closer as the Buckeyes made nine of their final 11 free throws to close out the game.

The Buckeyes already had equaled their 11 conference wins from a year ago. Three out of their next five games will come against ranked opponents, and the Buckeyes get all of them at home, where they’re 10-1 this season.

The Nittany Lions played arguably their best first half of the season. They hadn’t scored more than 61 points in any of their last four, but shot 53% from 3-point range in the first half and had the Buckeyes on their heels plenty.