CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) With 14 seconds left on the clock in overtime Thursday, Ohio State led Illinois by three points but the Buckeyes needed one last stop. Illiniois’ Malcolm Hill lost the ball near the Buckeye basket, Keita Bates-Diop came up with it and fed Mickey Mitchell, who loped to the other end of the court for an easy layup with four seconds left that locked up a 68-63 win. ”I’m still trying to figure out how Mickey Mitchell came out of there with that basketball,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. ”I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m glad he did.” The end may not have made much sense to Matta, but the win was tough to figure out, too. Both teams played sloppy. Ohio State (14-8, 6-3 Big Ten) hit 39 percent of its shots and Illinois just 32 percent. ”It wasn’t always pretty, but both teams were going at it,” Illinois coach John Groce said. Trevor Thompson, who led Ohio State with 16 points, acknowledged that a month earlier the young Buckeyes might not have come out of the game with a win. ”I feel like we’ve definitely grown up,” he said…
Continue Reading: Ohio State downs Illinois in overtime, 68-63 (Jan 29, 2016)
