Nittany Lions Too Much In Buckeyes' Ninth Loss In A Row

COLUMBUS — Penn State (17-11, 8-9) had three players score at least 18 points in the Nittany Lions’ 75-71 win at Ohio State on Thursday. The loss was the ninth in a row for the Buckeyes (11-17, 3-14) and 14th in their last 15 contests. It is the most losses in a 15-game stretch for the Ohio State basketball program since the 1996-1997 team lost 17 in a row.

Penn State guard Jalen Pickett led all scorers with 23 points. Starting forward Seth Lundy added 19 points, and starting guard Camren Wynter pitched in 18 points. Combined, the trio shot 20-of-32 from the field and 10-of-15 from three-point range.

Freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh led the Buckeyes with 20 points as they played their first game since starting center Zed Key was shut down for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury. Freshman point guard Bruce Thornton scored 19 points in 37 minutes of action. Freshman center Felix Okpara started in place of Key and scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting in 18 minutes.

Seniors Justice Sueing, Sean McNeil, and Isaac Likekele combined to score 21 points on 9-of-29 shooting and 2-of-10 from three.

The largest lead for either team was just six points, held by Penn State once in the first half and once in the second half. The Buckeyes led for about two minutes in the second half as they unsuccessfully tried to end their losing streak.

The Buckeyes turned the ball over just once, and they outrebounded PSU 33-27, including 21-10 in the second half.

Up next for Ohio State is a 1:00 pm tip-off on CBS at home on Sunday against Illinois.