Ohio State 75, Illinois 73

[January 04, 2016]  Guard Kam Williams came off the bench to key a second-half surge, and Ohio State made critical free throws down the stretch to weather a storm and defeat Illinois 75-73 Sunday at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State (10-5, 2-0 Big Ten) won its sixth consecutive game, while Illinois (8-7, 0-2) lost its second straight.

Forward Marc Loving led the Buckeyes with 27 points. Guard JaQuan Lyle added 14 points for the Buckeyes.

Guards Kendrick Nunn, Malcolm Hill and Jalen Coleman-Lands and forward Michael Finke each scored 14 for the Illini.

Illinois, which trailed by as many as eight points late in the second half, nearly pulled out the comeback victory.

Coleman-Lands nailed a 3-point jumper to bring the Illini within 72-70 with seven seconds left.

Loving made two free throws, but with two seconds left, Hill sank another 3-pointer to make the score 74-73.

Loving made one of two free throws to account for the final score.

The Buckeyes had an eight-point lead thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Williams and seemingly were in control up 59-51 with just under eight minutes to go. However, Illinois scored 10 straight to tie until a dunk by Loving at 4:16 stopped the run.

Ohio State, which gave up an average of 57 points during its previous five games, had trouble defending the Illini from beyond the arc. Illinois made 12 of 32 3-point shots to stay within striking distance. The Buckeyes shot 5-for-15 from long distance.

Ohio State fell behind 6-0 and didn't record a field goal until forward Jae'Sean Tate made a layup with 14:58 left in the opening half.

Illinois went more than five minutes without scoring, and the Buckeyes took advantage, scoring 12 straight points to take a 12-6 lead.

The Buckeyes held a huge advantage from the free-throw line in the first half outscoring the Illini, 13-2.

Ohio State made 28 of 39 free throws overall, while Illinois went 9-for-11 from the line.

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.