No. 5 Michigan State beats No. 3 Ohio State in OT

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Keith Appling made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 29 seconds left and finished with 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds to help No. 5 Michigan State beat No. 3 Ohio State 72-68 in overtime Tuesday night after blowing a 17-point lead in the second half.

The Spartans (14-1, 3-0 Big Ten) led 55-38 and the Buckeyes (15-1, 2-1) forced overtime with a 20-3 run to close regulation.

Ohio State entered the day as one of six unbeaten teams in Division I.

Aaron Craft’s three-point play with 2:02 left in the second half and his layup, after throwing an inbounds pass off Adreian Payne’s backside, with a minute left pulled Ohio State within one. Payne made one of two free throws on the ensuing possession, allowing Amir Williams’ putback dunk with 19 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Ohio State scored the first points of the extra period, taking its first lead since it was ahead 19-17, but gave up some pivotal 3-pointers.

Michigan State redshirt freshman Kenny Kaminski made a season-high third 3-pointer to break a tie with 2:40 left in overtime and Payne connected on a shot beyond the arc on the Spartans’ next possession.

Appling made two free throws with 14.4 seconds left to give Michigan State a three-point lead and Ohio State’s Marc Loving missed an off-balance 3-pointer with 3 seconds left. Appling made one of two free throws with one second to go.

The Buckeyes had a season-high 21 turnovers, leading to them not having a double-digit scorer until there was fewer than 4 minutes left in regulation. Sam Thompson finished with 18 points, including six straight late in regulation, and Loving scored 10 points.

Payne didn’t start because of a right foot sprain, but was healthy enough to play 32 minutes and score 18 points. Gary Harris scored 13 points for the Spartans, the first team to score 70-plus points against Ohio State this season.

Michigan State, which beat then-No. 1 Kentucky nearly two months ago, has won seven straight games since losing to North Carolina.

Michigan State led 28-21 at halftime and appeared to take control with 13-4 run midway through the second half.

The Spartans, though, appeared to try to focus on taking time off the clock with each possession and Ohio State took advantage of the conservative strategy, earning a chance to win the game in overtime.