Ohio State pulls away to beat Penn State 77-67

Ohio State freshman D'Angelo Russell scored 28 points as the Buckeyes ran away from Penn State in the second half, beating the Nittany Lions 77-67 at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.

Penn State senior guard D.J. Newbill reached the 2,000-point mark for his career on Senior Night for the Nittany Lions (15-15, 3-14 Big Ten), but he was overshadowed by Russell's dominant performance.

Russell took over the game in second half for No. 23 Ohio State (22-8,11-6), scoring 19 of his 28 points after halftime.

Russell helped orchestrate an early 11-8 lead for the Buckeyes in the opening half with a 3-point shot with 15:41 minutes to go.

The Nittany Lions gained their confidence after a Ross Travis dunk and two lay-ups from Jordan Dickerson to pull within a point. An 18-5 run over an 11-minute stretch—during which they held Ohio State to 9 of 23 shooting—gave Penn State a 29-20 lead with 3:22 remaining in the half.

However, the tables turned when the Nittany Lions got into foul trouble and committed three turnovers in 13 seconds, allowing the Buckeyes to score 9 unanswered points to tie the game. Penn State led 30-29 lead by the end of the opening half.

Penn State came into the second half energized and scored 8 unanswered points to gain a 36-29 lead within three minutes. But it turned sour pretty quickly when the Nittany Lions lost their footing offensively and slacked defensively, opening Hell’s gates to allow Russell to take over.

Behind Russel’s sharp-shooting from beyond the arc, the Buckeyes embarked on a 26-6 run to bring the score to 60-46 with 8 minutes to go.

Penn State shot for an atrocious 3-for-17 from 3-point land. The Buckeyes hit just 6-for-17 from deep, and five of those came from Russell. Ohio State was able to take advantage of Penn State's foul troubles, shooting 20-of-24 (83 percent) from the free throw line.

Penn State tried to stay alive by applying full court pressure, but it was not enough to stop Ohio State’s momentum. Newbill and Travis both ended the game with 17 points. Newbill added 5 assists and 4 rebounds to his points and Travis added 8 rebounds.

Only one other Penn State player ended in double-figures as guard Shep Garner scored 13 points.

Shannon Scott and Jae'sean Tate each clocked in 13 points, with 7 and 5 rebounds respectively for Ohio State.

Penn State will go on the road to face Minnesota on Sunday for their final game before the Big Ten Tournament.