Sullinger’s 19 points leads OSU past PSU

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Freshman Jared Sullinger scored 19 points and hit a three-point play with 13.2 seconds left to lift No. 2 Ohio State to a 69-66 victory over Penn State on Saturday.

The victory, on the heels of top-ranked Duke’s 66-61 loss at Florida State on Wednesday night, could propel the Buckeyes (18-0, 5-0 Big Ten) to the No. 1 spot in next week’s rankings.

Fellow freshman Aaron Craft also had 19 points, a career-high, to go with seven assists and brilliant defense against Penn State (10-7, 3-3) star Talor Battle. Battle’s 3-pointer with 2 seconds left came up short.

David Jackson had 19 points, Battle 15 and Tim Frazier and Jeff Brooks 11 apiece for the Nittany Lions, trying to upset three straight ranked teams for the first time in school history.

William Buford added 13 points and Jon Diebler had 10 for the Buckeyes, off to the third-fastest start in the school’s 112 years of the sport. Only the 1960-61 team (27-0) and the 1961-62 team (22-0), both led by Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek and both of which lost in the national championship game, have been better.

Sullinger was 6 of 9 from the field and 7 of 9 at the line and had six rebounds and matched a career best with five assists. Craft was 7 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers, and also had seven assists and three rebounds to go with one turnover in 35 minutes.

With the score tied at halftime, the Buckeyes took control with a 12-2 run. Defense fueled the fun, with the Buckeyes forcing turnovers on four of Penn State’s first seven possessions. At the other end, Buford, Diebler, Craft and Diebler again hit 3-pointers.

The biggest Ohio State lead was 44-34 after two free throws by Sullinger.

But the Nittany Lions made a run.

Battle, having an off night shooting, reached in to flick away a pass from Craft and then scored on the layup, putting Penn State up 61-60 with under 3 minutes left.

Seconds later, however, Buford made a 3.

The capacity crowd booed with 1:12 left when Battle, isolated on Craft, drove the lane and lost his footing but benefited from a call against Craft. Battle’s two foul shots tied it at 63.

The Buckeyes went back inside to Sullinger on the ensuing possession, with the big guy hitting a half hook while being fouled by Andrew Jones — his fifth — with 59.8 seconds remaining. The freshman then completed the three-point play for a 66-63 lead.