E.J. Liddell poured in a career-high 34 points as Ohio State returned to form Sunday with a 95-87 win over Northwestern.
A career-best night for E.J. Liddell lifted the Buckeyes to a bounceback win in Columbus on Sunday.
Northwestern did not go away easy, cutting the Buckeye lead down to six points in the final minute while Ty Berry, Chase Audige and Pete Nance powered a fervent comeback effort. Each of those three Wildcats finished with at least 20 points. But it would not be enough in the end, as the Buckeyes never quite cooled off enough to allow Northwestern to take a lead at any point in the second half.
Northwestern managed to stay within relative striking distance, though, scoring 10 of the next 12 points after Ohio State took the aforementioned 15-point lead to cut the Buckeyes advantage down to seven by the 9:50 mark. The Wildcats turned eight Ohio State turnovers into 11 points, which helped their cause amid the Buckeyes’ offensive onslaught.
A couple of timely 3-pointers from Meechie Johnson and Cedric Russell helped the Buckeyes get back up by double digits in the middle of the half, and Ohio State was back up by 13 after an and-one from Liddell gave the Buckeyes a 78-65 lead at the 6:59 mark.