The biggest victory: Michigan wins for the first time 11 years at Ohio State

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 15 Michigan Wolverines won for the first time in 11 years at Ohio State, recovering from an eight-point deficit early in the second half for a 70-60 victory over the Buckeyes on Tuesday night.

The Wolverines (18-6, 10-2 Big Ten) ended a nine-game losing streak in games played in Columbus and gave coach John Beilein his first victory over the No. 22 Buckeyes (19-6, 6-6) in seven years at Michigan. Their last win in Columbus came in January 2003.

The victory nudged Michigan a half-game in front of Michigan State atop the Big Ten standings.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta suffered his first home loss to Michigan in 10 meetings between the rivals, but he still has a 17-5 record against the Wolverines.

Guard Nik Stauskas scored 15 points for Michigan, which had lost its last two Big Ten road games, and point guard Derrick Walton Jr. had 13 points, all in the second half, and a game-high 10 rebounds. Forward Glenn Robinsin III and guard Caris LeVert each added nine points.

Ohio State forward LaQuinton Ross led all scorers with 24 points and added six rebounds. Guard Lenzelle Smith Jr. contributed 13 points.

After Ohio State missed its last six shots from the field in the first half, Ross scored four points and Jr. buried a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Buckeyes' lead grew to 37-29.

Michigan responded with a 20-6 run to go in front 49-43 on a three-point play by guard Derrick Walton Jr. with 8:53 remaining.

Ohio State kept it close. Ross' three-point play after rebounding his own miss cut the deficit to 51-50 with 6:22 left.

But the Buckeyes could not shove in front. The Wolverines outscored Ohio State 19-10 the rest of the way.

The Buckeyes made only 3 of 20 shots from 3-point range (15.0 percent) and the Wolverines were 8 of 17 from beyond the arc (47.1 percent), including 4 of 7 in the second half.

The Buckeyes got off to a flying start with two dunks in the first six minutes -- one on an alley-oop by high-flying forward Sam Thompson off a pass from Craft and the other by Ross -- to open a 13-5 lead.

Ohio State boosted its lead to 19-10 on a basket by Ross with 10:23 left in the half and went up by 10 twice at 26-16 and 28-18 before Michigan fought back in the final minutes.

Stauskas and LeVert drilled 3-pointers during an 8-0 run to pull the Wolverines within 28-26 with 28 seconds remaining in the opening half. With the clock running down, Ross was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Irvin and converted two of the three free throws with 1.5 seconds left to make it 30-26 at intermission.

Ross led all scorers at the half with 13 points. Stauskas paced Michigan eight points, sinking 2 of 4 shots from 3-point range.

Ohio State's defense gave Michigan problems, forcing the Wolverines into 9-of-28 shooting from the field (32.1 percent) in the first 20 minutes.

NOTES: Ohio State senior G Aaron Craft and Michigan senior F Jordan Morgan were named Tuesday to the five-member NCAA Division I Allstate NABC Good Works team that honors community service. Craft also was named Big Ten player of the week after leading the Buckeyes to wins at Iowa and at home against Purdue. ... A number of Ohio State students camped outside the Schottenstein Center starting Sunday night in sub-zero temperatures to get in line for the best seats when the doors to the arena opened. ... Craft and his roommates organized a Taco Tuesday to raise money for LiFE Sports, which helps send underprivileged kids to summer athletic camps. Fans could purchase three tacos for $5 or T-shirts for $20. ... Michigan G Caris LeVert is from Pickerington, Ohio, in suburban Columbus. He averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two games last week.