No. 22 Ohio State outlasts Indiana in overtime

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Malaki Branham scored 27 points and No. 22 Ohio State rallied to beat Indiana 80-69 in overtime Monday night.

Indiana led by four with 2:47 to go in regulation, but E.J. Liddell forced a steal with 1:11 remaining and slammed home the tying dunk with six seconds left.

“We played as well as we could play it,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. “We lost our man Liddell at the rim. He was able to dunk it and send it to overtime. That’s probably the biggest possession of the game.”

The Hoosiers jumped ahead by two early in overtime, but Jamari Wheeler hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:58 left as Ohio State took the lead for good.

“A really, really gritty, emotional win,” Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann said. “I just thought our guys were phenomenal in the closing two or three minutes.”

Branham, a freshman guard born in Columbus, finished 9 of 13 from the field and topped his season average by 16 points. Liddell had 16 points and Eugene Brown III scored 10 as Ohio State shot 48%.

The Buckeyes led by 10 with 12:06 remaining in the second half, but the Hoosiers used an 18-4 run to grab a 59-55 lead with 5:09 left.

Xavier Johnson led Indiana with 16 points, going 10 of 10 from the free-throw line. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson added 13 points apiece, and Parker Stewart scored 11.

“We’ve got to get them over the hump,” Woodson said. “I wish I had the magic pill to get them over the hump right now because we’re right there.”

The Buckeyes led 33-28 at halftime and pulled further ahead by making their first seven field goal attempts in the second half.

DEFENSE LEADS TO OFFENSE

Ohio State had five blocks and a steal in the second half, forcing a turnover that helped tie the game at the end of regulation.

In