Ohio St. squeaks by Indiana

The Associated Press The junior guard scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, including No. 11 Ohio State's final eight points, in a 69-67 victory over No. 19 Indiana last night. ''It was one of those situations where the coach kind of looked at me again, like, 'Go ahead and see what happens.' I knew I had to step up my game a little bit,'' said Penn, who finished off the Buckeyes' fifth straight victory, and fourth in a row on the road, by hitting three free throws in the final minute. On Saturday, he tied his career high with 27 points, 24 in the second half, in a 73-69 comeback victory at No. 20 Iowa. ''The second half is where I feel I can step up my game a little bit,'' he said. ''The first half, other guys were involved. But when it gets close, when the game's tight, I feel I can step my game up a little more, especially on the offensive end.'' The victory by Ohio State (20-6, 10-3 Big Ten) completed a two-game season sweep of the Hoosiers (19-9, 6-7) for the first time since 1991. ''Whenever you get an opportunity to win a game on the road in this league, you have to be exceptionally happy,'' Buckeyes coach Jim O'Brien said. ''For Ohio State to come in here and win a game, with the tradition and history involved, it's almost monumental. ''This is the third time ever that Ohio State has won here [in Assembly Hall], so that doesn't happen too often, and it's a great credit to the kids on our team.'' The Buckeyes lost a 14-point lead in the first half and neither team led in the second half by more than three points until a free throw and basket by Larry Richardson put Indiana ahead 65-61, the Hoosiers' biggest lead of the game. That's when Penn took over. A three-pointer by the 5'10" junior brought the score to 65-64. He followed that with two free throws with 2:18 to go, but two free throws by Michael Lewis gave Indiana its last lead, 67-66. Penn was fouled again and hit two more free throws for a 68-67 lead with 49 seconds to go. Then, after A.J. Guyton missed for the Hoosiers, Penn was fouled once more and hit one of two shots for the final point of the game. An off-balance three-point attempt by a closely guarded Lewis was no good just ahead of the final buzzer. Michael Redd, who was guarding Lewis, finished with 16 points for the Buckeyes.