Sullinger, No. 2 Bucks hold on to defeat Iowa

Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa

Freshman Jared Sullinger had 24 points and 12 rebounds and No. 2 Ohio State rallied to overtake Iowa 73-68 on Tuesday night.

Jon Diebler added 14 points for the Buckeyes (15-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who have won five straight over the Hawkeyes for the first time in school history.

Iowa cut Ohio State’s 13-point lead to 71-68 on Zach McCabe’s 3-pointer with 24 seconds left.

But Aaron Craft made two free throws and forced a turnover to put the upset-minded Hawkeyes away.

Ohio State had some trouble early with Iowa (7-7, 0-2) and trailed 35-29 at halftime. But the Buckeyes opened the second half with a 29-10 run — then hung on as the Hawkeyes made one final push.

Freshman Melsahn Basabe had a career-high 22 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks for the Hawkeyes, the only team in the conference with a .500 record.

Sullinger had 11 points in the first 81/2 minutes of the second half, and two 3s by Diebler put Ohio State ahead 58-45 with 8:40 left.

It was surprising to see the Buckeyes down six points at halftime. It was even less shocking to see them erase that deficit in less than 3 minutes.

Ohio State simply pounded it inside to Sullinger for three baskets from the same spot to take their first lead, 38-36.

Iowa kept it close for a bit, but the Buckeyes pushed it to 51-45 on Dallas Lauderdale’s tip-in as the Hawkeyes struggled to knock down the shots they had been making.

Diebler then delivered two crushing blows, following a 3 from the wing with a contested one from the corner to make it a 13-point game with 8:40 to go.