Normally when Penn State starts slow, it finds a way back into the ballgame. On Wednesday night, that wasn’t the case as the Nittany Lions went down early and couldn’t mount a concentrated rally, falling 75-55 to No. 23 Ohio State in Columbus. The Buckeyes (19-6, 8-4 Big Ten) started the game on a 12-0 run before the Lions (15-10, 3-9 Big Ten) got on the board with 13:08 left in the first half. From there, the Buckeyes cruised into halftime up 37-23, building a lead as big as 17 points while the Lions could only get within 10 at one point. After the break, the closest the Lions would get is 11 points, as the Buckeyes continued to build on their halftime lead. At one point, the home team had extended their advantage to 22 points for their largest lead of the night. One of the positives for the Lions in the second half was Brandon Taylor, who knocked down three 3-point baskets and finished the game with 11 points. D.J. Newbill was the Lions’ scoring leader with 16 points, while also turning in three boards and two assists. Ross Travis and Jordan Dickerson led the Lions with six and five rebounds, respectively. Overall, the Lions shot just 32.2 percent from the field on the night and turned the ball over 15 times, while the Buckeyes also tallied six steals. Conversely, forward Sam Thompson turned in 22 points and five rebounds and freshman guard D’Angelo Russell had 17 points and six rebounds for the Buckeyes. Guard Shannon Scott and center Amir Williams cleaned up the glass, pulling down 10 and seven boards, respectively. With the loss, the Lions dropped game one of their three-game slate against nationally-ranked teams. …
Continue Reading: Ohio State stymies Penn State men’s basketball in Columbus
