Freshman Jared Sullinger scored 19 points and hit a three-point play with 13.2 seconds left to lift the second-ranked Buckeyes to a 69-66 victory over Penn State on Saturday. 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 well short of extending the game, but before that he was held to just 15 points, which came up to be second best for the Nittany Lions tonight.
David Jackson had 19 for Penn State and the Buckeyes also held Jeff Brooks under 17 points, keeping him at 11. All game the defensive plan was to keep Battle at bay, and it worked for the most part. Towards the end Talor got a couple of calls that continued to make the game exciting at the finish.
On offense, it seemed early on that the Buckeyes focused on the perimeter shooting and passing. Not a lot of action went on in the paint, which may be why Sullinger was quieter in the first half, having to shoot mostly outside jump shots and free throws.
