Micah Parrish scored five of his 22 points in the second overtime to help Ohio State emerge with a 116-114 victory against Nebraska on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.
Bruce Thornton scored 29, Devin Royal 22 and John Mobley Jr. 20 for the Buckeyes (17-13, 9-10 Big Ten), who have won two games in a row.
Brice Williams scored 43 points, 31 after halftime, for Nebraska (17-13, 7-12 Big Ten), which has lost four straight. Juwan Gary added 24 points and Connor Essegian had 16.
Parrish hit a 3-pointer for a 110-106 lead with 43 seconds left in the second OT. Evan Mahaffey made two of four free throws over the next 25 seconds to make it 112-106, but Williams completed a three-point play with 10 seconds to go, pulling the Cornhuskers within three.
Mobley then made two foul shots with 8.4 seconds left, only to have Williams drain a shot with 3.5 seconds left. Mobley hit two free throws with 3.2 seconds left for a 116-111 edge, and Williams sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Williams scored the first five points of the first overtime for a 94-89 Cornhuskers lead. Ohio State pulled to within 99-98 thanks to 3-pointers from Thornton and Parrish before Royal made the first free throw but missed the second with 7.4 seconds left, leaving the score tied. Williams then missed a last-second shot.
Williams has scored 20-plus points in nine of the past 10 games.
Nebraska, which trailed by 66-55 with 11:29 remaining in the second half, was down 87-80 with 2:13 left. However, an Andrew Morgan layup and free throw after being fouled tied it at 88 with 42 seconds left.
Mobley made one of two free throws with 16.8 seconds to go before Williams made his first foul shot with 8.4 seconds left but missed the second. Ohio State got the rebound but could not get off a shot.
Ohio State led 45-39 at the half thanks to a 30-footer by Mobley at the buzzer. The Buckeyes led by as many as 11, but the Cornhuskers pulled to within three before Mobley’s bomb.
The Buckeyes end the regular season at Indiana on Saturday. The Cornhuskers host Iowa on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
