The Buckeyes briefly snapped their January woes with a 79-67 win over Penn State in Columbus.

Ohio State started red hot in the first half, going on a 16-0 run to start the ballgame. Six of the first ten points were scored by sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. Gayle and fellow guard Bruce Thornton have struggled the past three games to find their stride and have been a part of the Buckeye’s struggles as a team. But Gayle showed that he has brushed off that slump and is back to his old self in a way

The Buckeyes came into this game riding a three-game losing streak and falling out of the NCAA Tournament projections. This game was viewed as a “must-win” by Buckeye fans if there was any hope for a tournament appearance. Penn State is coming off of a shocking upset at home against #11 Wisconsin on Tuesday evening and was looking to take down the Buckeyes for the second time this season.

Evan Mahaffey, who started his college career at Penn State, was the real champion of today’s game. Mahaffey’s dad needs a heart transplant and has been looking for support, but that did not stop his son from having the best game of his college career. Mahaffey finished with 16 points on 6-9 from the field, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals against his former team.

Felix Okpara was a real winner from today’s game as well. He ended the game with 14 rebounds and was just two points shy of a double-double. With Scotty Middleton suspended for today’s game due to an unknown violation of team rules, Dale Bonner and Devin Royal had to step up and replace the minutes Middleton had.

Penn State tried to come back with four minutes left and cut a twenty-point lead with five minutes remaining to a nine-point game with three minutes remaining. The Buckeyes were able to pull out the huge victory as they look ahead to Nebraska on Tuesday night.

Featured Image Credit: Penn State Athletics