UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Sophomore guard Tony Carr scored 30 points and three other Nittany Lions had double figures in points as Penn State defeated No. 8/9 Ohio State 79-56 at the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday night. It was Penn State's fourth-straight win and the fifth victory in six meetings against top-25 opponents at the BJC. It also marked the first win over a top-10 team since a Feb. 17, 2016, win over 4/6 Iowa at home.
For Penn State, now 19-9, 9-6, it is the fastest the program has achieved 19 wins since the 1995-96 season and also the fastest it has reached nine Big Ten Conference wins in 15 games, also since the 1995-96 season.
"I really want to thank the students for coming out -- that was an awesome crowd," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "As far as the game, I just thought we played really good basketball as far as defending and rebounding. I have so much respect for Chris [Holtmann] and what he does with that team and how tough they are. I have so much respect for their foundation. I was proud of how intense our guys played and came out and played tough, physical, Penn State basketball."
The Nittany Lions had a 24-point halftime advantage and grew it to 30, 51-21, before Ohio State made a 16-4 run to cut the lead to 55-37. Keita Bates-Diop hit two 3-pointers and Kyle Young had a tip in to bring the Buckeyes within 16 points midway through half.
Carr went 9-15 from the field, including four 3-pointers and added five rebounds and three assists to his totals. It was his fourth career game with 30 or more points, all coming in the 2017-18 season. Redshirt sophomore Mike Watkins had his 20th career double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Senior guard Shep Garner took sole possession of the No. 10 spot on Penn State's all-time scoring list with 13 points, now with 1,472 for his career.
The Nittany Lions outscored the Buckeyes in the paint 38-24 and posted their second-most points in a game in the series to the 82 points in the January 25, 2018 win. The sweep of Ohio State in 2017-18 marked the first back-to-back wins in the series since the 2013-14 season.
Ohio State was 0-7 from beyond the arc in the first half and with a 2-15 total on the night. Despite a 52 percent field goal percentage in the second half, the Buckeyes finished at 38.9 percent overall from the field, becoming the 14th team this season to be held under 40 percent by Penn State.
The Nittany Lions are now 15-1 when holding their opponent to less than 60 points. The 56 points was a season-low for the Buckeyes.
C.J. Jackson led the Buckeyes with 14 points while Keita Bates-Diop had 10 with five rebounds and two blocked shots. Micah Potter was the top rebounder for Ohio State with six.
Penn State has started February at a 4-0 clip for the first time since the 1989-90 season. The 19 wins are the most for the Nittany Lions under Chambers in his seven-year tenure as coach. The nine conference wins are the most for Chambers at Penn State and come at the earliest date since the 1995-96 season when the squad had 11 wins in 15 league games.