Minnesota Falls To Ohio State 78-63

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP-gophersports.com) -- Marc Loving scored 20 points and JaQuan Lyle had 13 assists, and Ohio State pulled away from Minnesota for a 78-63 win on Wednesday night in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Carlos Morris scored 18 points, Jordan Murphy 11 and Nate Mason 10 for the Golden Gophers (6-7).

Keita Bates-Diop added 13 points and Jae'Sean Tate 10 for the Buckeyes, who are 9-5 with a five-game winning streak.

Kam Williams came off the bench to score five points to spur a 21-5 Buckeyes run that turned a 45-44 lead into a 66-49 advantage with six minutes to play. Loving had five points and reserve center David Bell four points during the stretch.

Loving had five points and reserve center David Bell four points during the stretch. Loving, averaging 13.9 points, had a combined 10 points in the previous two games, going 0-for-7 on 3-pointers. He hit 3 of 5 3s against the Gophers.

Minnesota went on a 15-1 run that stretched from the end of the first half and into the second to take a 39-37 lead, its first of the game, when Murphy hit a pair of free throws.

The Buckeyes led by as many as 16 in the first half, saw the margin cut to six then built it to 12 before the Gophers scored 10 of the final 11 points before the break.

The Gophers trailed 26-11 with 9 1/2 minutes left when they mounted their first comeback. They scored nine straight to make it 26-20 but Daniel Giddens completed a 10-4 run with a dunk with two minutes left and the advantage was back to 36-24.

The Gophers host Michigan State this Saturday at Williams Arena, our coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. with the pre-game show on KROC AM.