Rec Hall offers no magic for Lions
The Associated Press
UNIVERSITY PARK — Freshman John Mobley Jr. had 19 points, Bruce Thornton scored 17 and Ohio State cruised to an 83-64 victory over Penn State at Rec Hall on Thursday night.
Mobley hit three 3-pointers and added eight assists and six rebounds for the Buckeyes (13-8, 5-5 Big Ten Conference), who have won three in a row following a three-game skid. Thornton buried 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
Devin Royal totaled 15 points and eight rebounds for Ohio State. Micah Parrish scored 12.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 21 to lead the Nittany Lions (13-9, 3-8), who have lost seven of their last eight games. Zach Hicks made three 3-pointers and scored 13. Ace Baldwin Jr. and Nick Kern both scored 10 with Baldwin adding six assists.
Mobley hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 to guide Ohio State to a 43-33 advantage at halftime. Royal added 10 points for the Buckeyes, who led by as many as 15. Niederhauser had 10 points for Penn State. Niederhauser’s dunk capped a 5-0 run to close out the half for the Nittany Lions.
Hicks hit two 3-pointers in the first 86 seconds of the second half to get Penn State within 45-39. The Buckeyes scored the next five points and maintained at least a three-possession lead from there. A Parrish dunk gave Ohio State its largest lead at 82-62 with 1:39 remaining.
Ohio State outrebounded Penn State 41-23 and 13 of them came at the offensive end, leading to an 18-4 advantage in second-chance points.
Ohio State plays at No. 18 Illinois on Sunday. Penn State will host Minnesota on Tuesday. The Lions are part of the bottom 3 in the Big Ten standings alongside Nebraska and Washington.
OHIO ST. (13-8): Royal 5-9 5-7 15, S.Stewart 3-4 1-2 7, Mobley 6-14 4-5 19, Parrish 4-10 4-5 12, Thornton 6-13 0-0 17, Glover 1-3 0-0 2, Bradshaw 3-4 0-0 6, Njegovan 1-4 2-2 4, Mahaffey 0-1 1-2 1, Baumann 0-0 0-0 0, Etzler 0-0 0-0 0, Nash 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-62 17-23 83.
PENN ST. (13-9): Hicks 4-8 2-2 13, Konan Niederhauser 8-14 5-9 21, Baldwin 2-8 4-4 10, Dilione 0-1 0-0 0, Kern 4-4 2-7 10, Dunn 2-8 3-4 8, Nzeh 1-1 0-1 2, D.Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Carter 0-1 0-0 0, Goodman 0-1 0-2 0, Ward 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-46 16-29 64.
Halftime–Ohio St. 43-33. 3-Point Goals_Ohio St. 8-22 (Thornton 5-7, Mobley 3-8, Glover 0-1, Njegovan 0-1, Royal 0-1, Parrish 0-4), Penn St. 6-19 (Hicks 3-6, Baldwin 2-5, Dunn 1-5, Carter 0-1, Dilione 0-1, Konan Niederhauser 0-1). Fouled Out–S.Stewart, Bradshaw. Rebounds_Ohio St. 36 (Royal 8), Penn St. 19 (Hicks, Konan Niederhauser 5). Assists–Ohio St. 13 (Mobley 8), Penn St. 14 (Baldwin 6). Total Fouls–Ohio St. 26, Penn St. 16.