Ohio State 67, Northern Illinois 54

[December 17, 2015]  Forwards Jae'Sean Tate and Keita Bates-Diop had double-doubles to lead Ohio State to a 67-54 victory over Northern Illinois on Wednesday night at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Tate paced the Buckeyes with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, and Bates-Diop had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore center Trevor Thompson added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Buckeyes (5-5), who faced the Huskies between games against Connecticut and Kentucky.

The score was tied 44-44 with 11:59 left before Ohio State broke away and finally expanded its lead in the final minutes. There were six lead changes and four ties in the game.

Northern Illinois, which hasn't beaten a Big Ten team since 1999, hadn't played in 12 days and shot just 27 percent from the field (15 of 56).

Center Marin Maric led Northern Illinois (7-2) with a career-high 17 points and nine rebounds. Guard Marshawn Wilson was the only other Huskie to score in double figures with 16 points.

Ohio State, which lost to Connecticut on Saturday, had seven turnovers in the first half that led to 13 points for Northern Illinois. Nonetheless, the Buckeyes led 33-31 at halftime. The Buckeyes came into the game averaging 14 turnovers per game and each team finished with 14.

Northern Illinois took its first lead in the opening half on a dunk by Maric with 12:17 left. Ohio State retook the lead at 20-18 on a 3-pointer by Tate with 8:02 left and led by as many as six points before intermission.

Thompson paced the Buckeyes at the half with eight points and six rebounds. Maric led the Huskies in the first half with 11 points, making 7 of 8 free throws.

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