Loving’s OT hoop lifts Ohio State past Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS — With the way he played in the first half Tuesday against Minnesota, Ohio State freshman guard D’Angelo Williams was the favorite to hit a big shot late.

Instead, it was his teammate, forward Marc Loving, who knocked down the biggest shot of the game.

Loving hit a go-ahead jumper with five seconds to play in overtime, and Buckeyes guard Shannon Scott made a big defensive play at the other end as No. 22 Ohio State topped Minnesota 74-72 Tuesday in Big Ten action at Williams Arena.

“This is a big win for us,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. “I loved the fashion that we won it, but it took a couple years off my life. I like the plays we made.”

Russell scored a game-high 27 points, 25 of which came in the first half. He added two points at the free-throw line in overtime to put Ohio State up by three. Loving finished with 13 points.

Scott added nine points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for Ohio State (14-3, 2-1 Big Ten).

Minnesota (11-5, 0-3) rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to force overtime. After Gophers freshman guard Nate Mason made one of two free throws in the final minute, Ohio State had the ball with a chance to take the last shot. However, center Amir Williams’ shot was no good, and Gophers forward Joey King’s half-court heave sailed well over the basket to send the game to overtime.

Russell’s two free throws put Ohio State up 72-69 with 1:13 remaining in overtime. Both teams traded turnovers before Mason converted a three-point play to tie the score at 72 with 24 seconds to play. At that point, Minnesota felt confident it had a chance to steal one from the Buckeyes.

“I thought we were going to win,” Gophers senior guard DeAndre Mathieu said. “I knew we were ready to get a stop on the other end. Just go down and score a basket. … Loving made a nice shot, and then Scott made a nice play.”

After Mason’s three-point play, the Buckeyes got the ball to Loving, whose jumper took the air out of Williams Arena. Minnesota had a chance to score the other way but opted not to call a timeout. The Gophers never got off a shot before the buzzer.

“I was just focused on getting the shot up because I knew I had a lot of faith in myself,” Loving said. “I knew I was going to make it. We ran that play three times. It was just a matter of time. The third time’s the charm.”

Gophers center Mo Walker had a team-high 18 points and added nine rebounds. Mathieu chipped in 17 points, three assists and three steals. After a scoreless first half, senior guard Andre Hollins wound up with 12 points. Hollins shot 3-for-9 from 3-point range, 3-for-13 from the floor overall.

Minnesota didn’t have an answer for Russell in the first half as he helped key a 15-2 Buckeyes run. Russell, who came into Tuesday’s game averaging 17.7 points per game, had 11 early points as Ohio State jumped out to a 17-9 lead. He finished the half 10-of-12 from the floor, including a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range.

After the big first half by Russell, Mason was tasked with guarding the Buckeyes phenom, and he kept Russell scoreless in the second half.

“We adjusted. We trapped him. We denied him,” Gophers coach Richard Pitino said of Russell. “We did a lot of things like that, so I thought that was really good.”

Minnesota answered Ohio State’s early first-half run with one of its own. Guard Carlos Morris hit a 3-pointer to cap a quick 5-0 run as the Gophers clawed back.

Later in the first half, Minnesota center Elliott Eliason threw down a two-handed dunk that tied the game at 21 and brought the Williams Arena crowd to its feet.

Behind Russell, Ohio State went on an 11-2 run to close out the half with a 41-29 lead.

NOTES: Ohio State won despite shooting just 6-for-12 from the foul line. Minnesota hit 11 of 15 free throws. … Minnesota’s players wore alternate black jerseys for Tuesday’s game, and Gophers fans were encouraged to wear black as part of a