Harding hits late 3 to help Iowa pull away and beat Ohio State 77-70 in a Big Ten Tournament opener

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Brock Harding scored 15 points that included a clutch 3-pointer to help 15th-seeded Iowa pull away from No. 10 seed Ohio State for a 77-70 victory on Wednesday night in a Big Ten Tournament opener.

Bruce Thornton converted a three-point play and then added a pullup jumper following a Harding turnover to cut the Ohio State deficit to 72-70 with 45 seconds left. Harding answered with a 3-pointer, Thornton missed a 3 on the other end and Payton Sandfort added two free throws to seal it for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa (17-15) will move on to face fifth-seeded Wisconsin (23-8) in the second round on Thursday.

Payton Sandfort finished with 17 points for the Hawkeyes, who shot 55% (29 of 53). Josh Dix added 16 points and Pryce Sandfort had 10. Harding shot 5 of 6 from the floor and made three 3-pointers.

Thornton scored 24 points and had nine assists to lead Ohio State (17-15). Devin Royal chipped in with 17 points and Micah Parrish had 16.

There were 13 lead changes and the score was tied 10 times. Iowa shot 10 of 24 from 3-point range while Ohio State was 5 of 22 from distance.

The teams were tied at 37 at the break then Iowa opened the second half on a 17-9 run for its largest lead at 54-46, with about 14 minutes remaining. The Hawkeyes took the lead for good, 62-61, with 7:11 to play.

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