IOWA CITY, Iowa — Trailing by two points with three seconds left, Dale Bonner intentionally missed the second of two free throws, but neither team could corral the loose ball before time ran out and Iowa held on to beat Ohio State 79-77 on Friday night.
Iowa (13-9, 5-6 Big Ten) now has won four of its last six against Ohio State. The Buckeyes (13-9, 3-8) lost their fourth straight game and now have dropped seven of their last eight.
In a game that featured 10 lead changes, Iowa's largest lead was five points; Ohio State's biggest lead was four.
Bonner knocked down a 3-pointer with 12:42 left to pull the Buckeyes into a tie at 51-51 and Devin Royal hit the second of two at the line and Roddy Gayle Jr. added two more to make it 54-51. Iowa answered behind a layup and a three-point play by Tony Perkins, two free throws from Patrick McCaffery and another by Owen Freeman to give Iowa a 59-54 lead with under 10 minutes to play.
Bruce Thornton tied the game at 67-67 and again at 69-69, but Iowa had an answer each time. Forced to foul in the final minute, Ohio State fouled McCaffery twice and the fifth-year senior hit four straight free throws. Bonner hit the second of two free throws with eight seconds left to get the Buckeyes to 78-76. After Payton Sandfort added a free throw to make it 79-76, Bonner hit the first of two free throws to make it 79-77, but the Buckeyes could not come down with the rebound off his intentional miss.
Perkins led the Hawkeyes with 20 points for the fifth straight game. Sandfort and Josh Dix each added 15 points and McCaffery hit 8 of 8 at the line to finish with 10 points.
Jamison Battle led Ohio State with 17 points. Felix Okpara and Thornton each added 15 points and Gayle added 12.
Iowa plays four of its next six games on the road beginning Thursday at Penn State. Ohio State plays at Indiana Tuesday.