COLUMBUS >> A handful of big plays erased an afternoon of mistakes as Ohio State rallied to stun No. 8 Iowa, 68-64, on Sunday. Marc Loving, Kam Williams and Keita Bates-Diop all scored in double figures for the Buckeyes, and all three had big plays down the stretch as they finished the game on a 12-2 run. “To put it in perspective, this was a great win because, A, we won the game, but B, how we had to win it,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. “Being down and fighting and scraping and clawing. We came together. Timeouts got electric. The huddles on the floor were electric.” He was especially encouraged because the Buckeyes won for the first time after losing leader Jae’Sean Tate to a season-ending shoulder injury. They were humbled, 81-62, by No. 6 Michigan State on the same floor five days earlier in their first game without Tate. Advertisement “That (energy is) something a guy like Jae’Sean Tate usually brought to the table,” Matta said, adding the team connected with Tate via FaceTime from the locker room after the game. “I don’t think he’ll remember tomorrow but we did do it,” Matta said. Multiple Buckeyes were indispensable down the stretch. Loving hit both ends of a 1-and-1 with less than 2 seconds to go to finish with 25 points and ice the game. Bates-Diop added 19 points and preserved a two-point lead for Ohio State (19-11, 11-6 Big Ten) by blocking Mike Gesell’s layup with under 5 seconds to go…
Continue Reading: College basketball: Ohio State rallies to stun Iowa, 68-64
