COLUMBUS, Ohio — With No. 15 Ohio State clinging to a five-point lead over Iowa, Deshaun Thomas blocked a layup in the final minute to preserve a 72-63 victory over Iowa on Tuesday night.
Thomas, who scored a game-high 16 points, blocked Mike Gesell’s layup, corralled the rebound and sank two free throws to seal the win.
Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 12 points each for Ohio State (14-4, 4-2 Big Ten) while Evan Ravenel scored 11 off the bench.
Iowa (13-6, 2-4) was led by Ohio native Aaron White, who scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds.
Led by White and Melsahn Basabe (10 rebounds), the Hawkeyes dominated Ohio State on the boards, but the Buckeyes controlled the offensive glass 22-11 at Value City Arena.
Iowa also forced the Buckeyes into 14 second-half turnovers, but they made up for it with one of their worst performances of the year at the free-throw line.
“We had been so good in that area,” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery whose team shot 50 percent from the line. “We were the best in the league, I think. We missed 13 in a nine-point loss. That’s disappointing.”
Continue Reading: Thomas’ clutch play sparks Ohio State past Iowa (The SportsXchange)
