Young, Ahrens lead No. 21 Ohio State past Towson 85-74

Published Dec. 8, 2021 11:37 p.m. ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kyle Young scored 18 points, Justin Ahrens had 16 points on five 3-pointers and No. 21 Ohio State held off Towson 85-74 on Wednesday night.

E.J. Liddell made all eight of his free throws for Ohio State (7-2), and Zed Key added 13 points for the Buckeyes, who have beaten two unranked opponents since knocking off then-No. 1 Duke last week.

It was a strong shooting night all around for Ohio State, which shot 57.4% from the field, 43.5% from 3-point range and 84% from the free-throw line. Young went 6 of 7 from the field and Key was 5 for 6. The Buckeyes made six of their final seven shots.

Jason Gibson scored 19 points to lead Towson (6-4), which never completely fell out of the game.

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The score was tied 43-all with 16:29 remaining before Ohio State went on a 12-2 run. The Buckeyes were in the double bonus for the remaining 7:27 and kept the Tigers at bay with free-throw shooting.

BIG PICTURE

Towson: The Tigers' three-game winning streak was snapped. Towson made two field goals in the final four minutes and committed 24 fouls, including 17 in the second half.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes' efficient shooting was offset somewhat by turnovers. They finished with 13.

UP NEXT

Towson: At Baltimore-area rival Coppin State on Saturday.

Ohio State: Hosts No. 22 Wisconsin on Saturday.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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