No. 4 Michigan State vs. No. 18 Ohio State final score: Buckeyes knock off Spartans, 68-60

The No. 18 Ohio State Buckeyes used a 24-5 second-half run to defeat the No. 4 Michigan State Spartans, 68-60, on Sunday at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

For more on this game, head over to Land-Grant Holy Land.

Michigan State closed out the first half on a 6-0 run, taking all of the momentum into the break after forcing a pair of Ohio State turnovers with the half winding down and converting an alley-oop dunk to silence the crowd. That momentum continued in the early moments of the second half, as the Spartans went up by nine points after Gary Harris and Adreian Payne hit back-to-back jumpers.

After a timeout, Ohio State woke up and began taking control of the game. Deshaun Thomas hit a pair of three-pointers, Amir Williams converted a three-point play off of a dunk and Aaron Craft made four layups, among other scoring plays for Ohio State, to give the Buckeyes a 10-point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Michigan State pulled to within two after Gary Harris's three-point play with 2:40 remaining, but Craft drove to the hoop for yet another layup, giving the Buckeyes some much-needed breathing room. Ohio State made 14 of its final 17 free throw attempts and used stifling defense down the stretch to seal the win.

Craft finished with a career high 21 points and six assists for the Buckeyes, while Payne scored 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Spartans in the loss.

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