Buckeyes make tourney chances better with win over Hawkeyes

Ohio State vs Iowa

The Ohio State Buckeyes made the plays they needed during crunch time at Iowa to win a game they needed during crunch time of the Big Ten season.

Evan Turner broke a 58-58 tie by making a jump shot in the lane with 2:09 left and Ohio State held the host Hawkeyes scoreless the rest of the way to earn a 60-58 victory Tuesday night. With the win, the Buckeyes (19-9 overall, 9-8 Big Ten) kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive heading into Sunday's regular-season finale in Columbus against Northwestern.

“We were fortunate to come out of there with a win,” Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said following the victory over Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. “We knew coming in that this was going to be a battle. I think some guys made plays for us down the stretch.”

Turner led the Buckeyes with 22 points and nine assists. The 6-foot-7 sophomore shot 10-of-17 from the field and also finished with five rebounds. Ohio State also got 12 points and five rebounds from sophomore guard Jon Diebler, who made 4-of-7 shots from three-point range.

The game was closely contested throughout. After the Buckeyes went on an 8-0 run early in the second half to tie the score at 40-40, neither team led by more than three points during the final 15 minutes.

A drive to the basket by Ohio State freshman center B.J. Mullens tied it at 52-52 with 6:19 remaining, and Turner followed with a layup a minute later to give the Buckeyes a 54-52 lead.

After the Hawkeyes pulled in front 55-54 on a three-pointer by Devan Bawinkel, the Buckeyes scored on layups by Walter Offutt and Turner to go back ahead by three.

The Hawkeyes answered with their 12 th three-pointer of the night, as Jake Kelly converted from long range to forge a 58-58 deadlock with 2:28 left.

After Turner put Ohio State ahead to stay with 2:09 remaining, the Buckeyes came through with four defensive stops, including three in the final minute, to close out the game.

A missed three-pointer by Iowa's Kelly with 55 seconds left was followed by an Ohio State turnover with 27 seconds to go. With the Hawkeyes trailing by two, Iowa's Jermain Davis attempted to drive the lane but Ohio State sophomore power forward Dallas Lauderdale deflected his shot and grabbed the carom with seven seconds remaining.

After Turner missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity for the Buckeyes with five seconds left, Kelly pulled down the rebound for Iowa. The Hawkeyes' last shot, a three-point attempt by Davis, bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

“I thought the difference in the game was the last two to three minutes,” Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter said. “They were able to drive to the boards, and we couldn’t stop them from getting there.”

With the loss, the Hawkeyes fell to 14-16 overall and 4-13 in the conference.

“It was a heck of a test, and we have sure been tested this year in a number of ways,” Lickliter said. “You just have to figure out how to respond to them. A wise guy once said you get bitter or you get better, so we will get better.”

Bawinkel led Iowa with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from three-point territory. Kelly finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Matt Gatens added 11 points for the Hawkeyes.

“I thought that Bawinkel, Kelly, and Gatens really performed well for Iowa,” Ohio State’s Matta said. “We were trying to key in on those three guys with our defense late in the game. Regardless, we got the win we came in for, and we have to move on.”

The Buckeyes look to be in good shape to be selected to the NCAA Tournament if they can beat Northwestern on Sunday to close out the Big Ten regular season. A win over the Wildcats would give the Buckeyes a 10-8 record in the conference as well as their 20 th victory overall heading into next week's Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.

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