National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ohio St. 78, Iowa St. 75
When: 12:15 PM ET, Sunday, March 24, 2013
Where: University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
Officials: # Karl Hess, # Terry Oglesby, # Scott Thornley
Attendance: N/A

Ohio State 78, Iowa State 75: Aaron Craft hit a 3-pointer with less than a second to play to lift the second-seeded Buckeyes over the Cyclones in the third round of the NCAA Tournament West Regional at Dayton, Ohio.

Craft, who finished with 18 points, held the ball for the game's final 29 seconds before launching his game-winner and propelling Ohio State (28-7) into the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year. Deshaun Thomas paced the Buckeyes with 22 points and LaQuinton Ross had 17 points off the bench for the Buckeyes, who will play sixth-seeded Arizona in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Korie Lucious led four Iowa State players in double figures with 19 points. Will Clyburn added 17 while Melvin Ejim scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Playing 70 miles from their campus, the Buckeyes had to fend off a late Cyclone rally for their 10th consecutive win. Thomas had 13 points as the Buckeyes led 38-36 at the break and Ohio State eventually built a 69-56 lead on a layup by Shannon Scott with 6:07 to play.

Iowa State, which leads the nation in 3-point shooting, scored the game's next 13 points - punctuated by 3-pointers from Tyrus McGee and Ejim - to roar back into a game that saw 16 lead changes.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Iowa State starting guard Chris Babb left the game in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return. ... Ohio State is the only team seeded fifth or higher still alive in the in the West Regional. ...McGee had 14 points for Iowa State, 11 coming in the game's final four minutes.
Top Game Performances
 
Iowa St.   Ohio St.
Korie Lucious 19 Scoring Deshaun Thomas 22
Melvin Ejim 4 Assists Aaron Craft 6
Melvin Ejim 11 Rebounds Deshaun Thomas 5
Melvin Ejim 5 Free Throws Made Aaron Craft 7
Melvin Ejim 2 Steals Aaron Craft 2
N/A Blocks Evan Ravenel 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Iowa St. 75 44.2 12-25 17-23 14 35 0 4 16
Ohio St. 78 51.0 9-18 19-26 12 20 2 7 9