National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ohio St. 74, Minnesota 72
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Chris Beaver, # John Higgins, # Gene Steratore
Attendance: 13138

No. 20 Ohio State 74, Minnesota 72 (OT): D'Angelo Russell scored 25 of his 27 points in the first half and Marc Loving knocked down the game-winning jumper with six seconds left in overtime as the visiting Buckeyes outlasted the Golden Gophers.

Loving had 13 points and seven rebounds for Ohio State (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten), which shot 50.8 percent from the field. Shannon Scott scored nine points to go along with 10 assists, seven rebounds and two steals while Amir Williams recorded five blocked shots for the Buckeyes, who blew a 12-point lead in the second half.

Maurice Walker paced Minnesota (11-5, 0-3) with 18 points and nine rebounds while DeAndre Mathieu tallied 17 points. Andre Hollins scored 12 points and Carlos Morris chipped in with four steals for the Golden Gophers, who have dropped three straight games after winning their previous eight.

Mathieu scored at the rim and Nate Mason split a pair of free throws to even the score at 66 with 31 seconds remaining before Williams and Minnesota's Joey King missed late chances to win it. Russell kept his nerve at the foul line to put Ohio State in front 72-69 before Mason converted a three-point play to set the stage for Loving's heroics.

Russell scored 11 of Ohio State's first 17 points to put the Buckeyes in front by eight early on as Ohio State shot 58.1 percent from the floor to take a 41-29 lead into intermission. Hollins connected from beyond the arc as part of a 7-0 burst to pull Minnesota within 51-46 before Scott replied with a 3-pointer of his own to push the margin back to eight with a little less than 13 minutes remaining in regulation.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Ohio State has won eight of the last nine matchups with Minnesota, including three of the last four at Williams Arena. … The Buckeyes came into the game ranked fourth nationally in field goal percentage at 52.3 and have shot better than 50 percent 11 times this season. … Hollins finished 3-of-13 from the floor and is 6-of-32 in his last three games.
Top Game Performances
 
Ohio St.   Minnesota
D'Angelo Russell 27 Scoring Maurice Walker 18
Shannon Scott 10 Assists Joey King 4
Marc Loving 7 Rebounds Maurice Walker 9
D'Angelo Russell 2 Free Throws Made Andre Hollins 3
Amir Williams 3 Steals Carlos Morris 4
Amir Williams 5 Blocks Maurice Walker 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Ohio St. 74 50.8 6-16 6-12 23 31 8 10 14
Minnesota 72 45.0 7-19 11-15 14 31 2 11 14