Hoosiers Rally, But Come Up Short in OT Loss at Ohio State

Indiana erased an 11-point deficit in the second half, but then blew a late lead of their own in the final minute of the game and got boat-raced in overtime, losing 80-69 to No. 22 Ohio State for its fifth straight loss in February.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — This has become the ''can't get over the hump'' season for Indiana. Once again, the Hoosiers had a chance to win a huge Big Ten game on Monday night at Ohio State and — once again — they fell short.

Despite erasing a 11-point second-half deficit, the Hoosiers collapsed in the final minute of regulation and then got scorched in overtime, falling 80-69. It was their fifth straight loss and dropped their record to 16-10 overall and 7-9 in the Big Ten with four regular-season games to play

All losses hurt, but this one was a dagger to the heart because the Hoosiers had this game won, but let it slip away with silly mistakes on both ends of the floor.

Let's zip through the early going, because the ending was so good. Ohio State led by five at the half, but the Hoosiers were always in striking distance thanks to 10 points and six rebounds from Trayce Jackson-Davis. 

Ohio State built the lead to 11 points early in the second half, but then the Hoosiers went on a 15-5 run to get within one. 

They finally took the lead at the 6:35 mark on two Jackson-Davis free throws, and then went up four at 59-55 when freshman Tamar Bates hit a three-pointer. A few minutes later, Bates scored on a jumped to make it 63-49 with 2:47 to go in the half,.

The Hoosiers wouldn't score again in regulation.

Bates and Branham both missed three-pointers, and Woodson called timeout with 1:23 to go. But Indiana turned it over just 10 seconds later on a bad entry pass from a high-low set from Race Thompson, intended for Jackson-Davis.

Branham drove against Stewart and was fouled, making both free throws to make it 63-61. Indiana ran clock, and Bates was forced to put up a long three-pointer that missed with 28 seconds to go.

Ohio State moved the ball around, and when Branham drove the lane, there was some confusion on Indiana's back end, and E.J. Liddell was wide open. Branham hit him with a pass and he dunked, forcing overtime. 

“Up four, we come out of a timeout and we throw the ball away,'' a frustrated Woodson said afterward. "That kind of triggered it, I thought, because it gave them hope again. If we come out of that possession with at least shooting two free throws or at least attempting the shot, we’d be alright. We didn’t even run any clock.’’

“With 15 on the clock, we played as well as we could play it, but then we lost Liddell at the rim and he sent it to overtime. The was probably the biggest possession of the game. ‘’

Indiana's defense let them down early in overtime, and forced to foul late, Ohio State never let them back in the game. Ohio State got points on all nine possessions in the overtime.

The Buckeyes are now 17-7 overall, and 10-5 in the Big Ten, one loss behind Purdue, Illinois and Wisconsin at the top. 

To snap its losing streak, Indiana has desperately wanted to get Parker Stewart and Miller Kopp going, because they are the Hoosiers' best perimeter shooters. Stewart made two early threes and finished with 11 points and Kopp scored all seven of his points in less than two minutes in the middle of the second half that started Indiana's rally from 10 down.

"I just go out there and follow the game plan and play hard to try to help the team win,'' Stewart said. "If coach wants me to be more assertive, or he calls a play for me, then that is what I’ll do as well. I do what’s asked of me and I trust coach will lead the team in the right direction.''

Indiana didn't have an answer for Ohio State freshman Malaci Branham, who finished with 27 points. He was 9-for-13 from the field and made all eight of his free throws.

"Branham is a good player,'' Stewart said. "We wanted to force him to his left hand, that was the game plan. In the second half, we had to adjust our pick-and-roll coverage on him to switching to try to prevent him from getting downhill. 

"He made some tough shots, and we also made some mistakes guarding him letting him get to his right hand. I take the blame for that because I guarded him most of the night.''

Xavier Johnson led Indiana with 16 points. He was just 3-for-12 from the field and missed all three three-pointers, but he was 10-for-10 from the line. Jackson-Davis and Thompson each had 13 points and Stewart had 11.

"We dug it out and we got stops to get ourselves back in the game, but we just didn't complete our mission,'' Johnson said. "We've got to defend without fouling. We've just got to be a great team again. We've got another game on Thursday and we've got to win that game. It's important,''

Indiana plays Maryland on Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Game time is 7 p.m. ET

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• LIVE BLOG: Follow the play-by-play of the game in real time in our live blog, with all the news and views from press row. CLICK HERE
• GALLOWAY OUT: Sophomore guard Trey Galloway missed Monday night's game with a lower body injury. Khristian Lander and Rob Phinisee were also out. CLICK HERE