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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ohio St. 69, Michigan St 67
When: 4:30 PM ET, Sunday, March 9, 2014
Where: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Officials: # Lamont Simpson, # Ted Valentine, # Terry Wymer
Attendance: 18809

Ohio State 69, No. 22 Michigan State 67:
LaQuinton Ross led the way with 22 points as the Buckeyes came through down the stretch to hold off the visiting Spartans in the regular-season finale.

Aaron Craft collected 12 points and seven assists for Ohio State (23-8, 10-8), which ends up as the No. 5 seed for this week's Big Ten tournament and will face Purdue on Thursday. Lenzelle Smith Jr. and Sam Thompson added nine points apiece for the Buckeyes.

Adreian Payne recorded 23 points and eight rebounds for Michigan State (23-8, 12-6), which landed the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the Big Ten tournament. Gary Harris scored 12 points but could not hit a jumper in the final seconds that would have forced overtime.

Amir Williams split a pair of free throws to give Ohio State a 68-67 edge with 37 seconds left and Payne missed a 3-pointer at the other end. Craft split another pair at the line and Denzel Valentine turned it over for the Spartans on the ensuing possession before Thompson missed two free throws to leave the door open for Harris’ final attempt.

Payne’s 13 first-half points helped Michigan State take a 38-36 lead into the break and a 12-0 burst early in the second half erased a small Ohio State advantage and left the Spartans up 51-44 with just under 15 minutes left. Thompson scored four points in a 8-2 burst that knotted it at 60 with 7:44 to play before Payne and Shannon Scott traded personal 5-0 runs over the next three minutes.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Craft recorded four steals to move into sole possession of first place on the all-time Big Ten list with 328, breaking a tie with former Illinois standout Bruce Douglas. … The Buckeyes struggled to 19-of-31 from the free-throw line, including 2-of-8 in the final 1:28. … Valentine and Payne each hit three of Michigan State’s 10 3-pointers.
Top Game Performances
 
Michigan St   Ohio St.
Adreian Payne 23 Scoring LaQuinton Ross 22
Keith Appling 6 Assists Aaron Craft 7
Adreian Payne 8 Rebounds Lenzelle Smith Jr. 8
Gary Harris 4 Free Throws Made Aaron Craft 4
Gary Harris 1 Steals Aaron Craft 4
Matt Costello 2 Blocks Sam Thompson 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Michigan St 67 43.6 10-20 9-10 17 28 4 1 16
Ohio St. 69 46.9 4-10 19-31 12 25 2 10 10