STATE COLLEGE — Ace Baldwin Jr.’s 3-pointer with 32 seconds remaining cappped a rally from an 18-point second-half deficit, and Penn State held on to defeat Ohio State, 83-80, on Saturday night.
After Baldwin’s 3-pointer — Penn State’s eighth of the second half — Bruce Thornton made two free throws to get Ohio State within a point. Zach Hicks made one of two from the line for a two-point Penn State lead, and Ohio State’s Jamison Battle missed a 3-pointer with 9 seconds left.
Penn State’s Qudus Wahab made a pair from the line for a four-point lead, and Ohio State’s Dale Bonner was fouled on his driving layup that cut it to two with 4 seconds left. Bonner missed the free throw, and Kanye Clary got the rebound then finished it off with one of two free throws.
Clary scored 19 points, D’Marco Dunn 16, Leo O’Boyle 15 off the bench, Hicks 11 and Wahab 10 for Penn State (5-5, 1-1 Big Ten).
Thornton scored 17, Battle 13, Zed Key 12 and Roddy Gayle Jr. 11 for Ohio State (8-2, 1-1).
Although the Nittany Lions fell behind by 18 points early in the second half, they were shooting lights out and making 11 of their first 17 attempts, including four successful 3-pointers. Penn State kept chipping away at the lead, and a 3-pointer by Hicks got the Nittany Lions within five at the under-8 timeout. A Hicks jumper made it 65-64 a minute later.
Ohio State made only one basket in a 7 1/2-minute stretch but clung to the lead until O’Boyle’s fourth 3-pointer of the game made it 74-74 with 2:33 remaining. The teams traded baskets before the go-ahead 3-pointer by Baldwin.
After Ohio State went ahead 16-14 in the first half, O’Boyle hit three free throws to give Penn State its only lead of the first 39 1/2 minutes, 17-16. Ohio State hit its next five shots, taking a 28-22 lead, and went on to lead 41-29 at halftime.
Penn State snapped a five-game losing streak. The Nittany Lions play Georgia Tech at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.
