Loving Leads Ohio State To 75-73 Win Over Illinois
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Marc Loving led four Ohio State players in double figures with 27 points as the Buckeyes held on to beat Illinois 75-73 on Sunday for its sixth straight win.
Loving scored six straight points to carry Ohio State from a 61-59 deficit to a 65-61 lead with 2:21 to play thanks to a dunk, a 3-pointer and a foul shot.
Ohio State held a five-point lead when Michael Finke's tip-in made it 70-67 with 23.3 seconds left. Jae-Sean Tate's slam with 12.6 seconds left made 72-67 before Jalen Coleman-Lands hit a trey to pull Illinois (8-7, 0-2) within 72-70.
A pair of Loving free throws upped the score to 74-70 but Malcolm Hill hit another 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left. Loving made one of two foul shots and a desperation shot from midcourt by Hill at the buzzer missed.
JaQuan Lyle, who had no points or assists in the first half when he played less than two minutes because of foul trouble, had 14 points and five assists for the Buckeyes (10-5, 2-0 Big Ten). Keita Bates-Diop had 11 and Kam Williams added 10.
Hill, Kendrick Nunn, Coleman-Lands and Finke all had 14 points for the Illini (8-7, 0-2).
Ohio State led 52-51 with nine minutes to play when Kam Williams scored five straight points and Lyle added a floater in the lane to push the Buckeyes' lead to 59-51.
But the Illini got a basket by Finke and a trey by Coleman-Lands to close to within three. Hill's basket and Finke's third 3-pointer of the second half gave Illinois a 61-59 lead before a Loving dunk tied the score with four minutes left.
Loving and Bates-Diop, from Normal, Ill., both had 11 points as the Buckeyes took a 30-26 halftime lead.
Ohio State was 28 of 39 from the free throw line; Illinois made 9 of 11.
TIP-IN
Illinois: The Illini have lost seven in a row in Columbus, where they are 42-46 all-time. ... Coach John Groce was an assistant under Ohio State coach Thad Matta at Ohio State from 2005-2008. Prior to that, Groce spent three years on Matta's staff at Xavier and one at Butler. He was head coach at Ohio University from 2009-12 before going to Illinois.
Ohio State: Despite the win, Illinois leads the series 101-70. ... OSU has won five straight against the Illini and 11 of 13. ... Matta is 16-5 against Illinois, 10-1 in Columbus.
UP NEXT
Illinois plays at No. 1 Michigan State on Thursday.
Ohio State is at Northwestern on Wednesday.
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