COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Deshaun Thomas, who missed part of the second half with a cut above his eye, scored 16 points and No. 14 Ohio State built a big lead and then held on to beat Iowa 72-63 on Tuesday night.
Thomas, the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 21 points per game, sat out about 3 minutes while an open cut over his right eye was bandaged.
The Buckeyes (14-4, 4-2 Big Ten) led by 24 points with under 13 minutes left but watched as Iowa cut the lead to four with 1:30 remaining.
Aaron White, an Ohio native playing his first college game in his home state, had 13 points for Iowa (13-6, 2-4).
Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. both had 12 points and Evan Ravenel added 11 for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes used a 10-0 run bridging halftime to build a 24-point lead. Iowa rallied to draw within five points on White’s bank shot with 2:30 left.
Ohio State missed a shot but rebounded it, before Craft was called for an offensive foul.
White then was fouled and hit the second of two to cut the lead to 63-59 with 1:30 remaining.
Craft added a foul shot with 1:02 left and, after forcing a turnover, Thomas made two more with 52.9 seconds remaining.
Roy Devyn Marble, who had a miserable shooting night for the Hawkeyes, then missed two free throws before Craft made two more to push the lead to 68-59 with 40 seconds left.
Continue Reading: Iowa’s rally falls short at OSU – Iowa (Rivals)
