COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Sam Thompson scored a career-high 22 points and D’Angelo Russell flirted with his second straight triple-double to lead No. 23 Ohio State past Penn State 75-55 on Wednesday night.
Russell, the nation’s top freshman scorer, added 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists for Ohio State (19-6, 8-4), which has won five of six.
D.J. Newbill had 16 points and Brandon Taylor 11 for Penn State (15-10, 3-9), which swept the two-game series last year after losing 18 straight to the Buckeyes.
Ohio State never trailed after streaking to a 9-0 lead.
The Buckeyes were up 37-23 at halftime, and both teams played erratically with the ball to start the second half.
Ohio State finally broke it open when Keita Bates-Diop and Thompson had consecutive three-point plays to push the lead to 56-38 with just more than 10 minutes left.