Turner, No. 9 Ohio State score 74-67 Big Ten road victory at Michigan St.

No. 9 Buckeyes beat No. 11 Michigan St. 74-67

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Evan Turner scored 20 points and No. 9 Ohio State earned a 74-67 win over No. 11 Michigan State on Sunday.

William Buford had 17 points for the Buckeyes (21-7, 11-4 Big Ten), who pulled into a second-place tie with Michigan State in the conference.

Both teams trail Purdue by a half-game in the conference standings.

Durrell Summers scored 16 points for Michigan State (21-7, 11-4), which trailed by 14 points early in the second half. Summers scored seven straight points, including a dunk and a 3-pointer, to give Michigan State a 62-61 lead with 4:05 remaining.

Buford hit two free throws to put the Buckeyes back on top 63-62. Turner’s jumper gave Ohio State a 65-62 lead with 2:55 left.

Jon Diebler hit a 3-pointer with 1:45 left to put the Buckeyes ahead 68-62.

Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas went 0 for 5 from the floor and scored just one point in the first half before finishing with nine points in the game. Raymar Morgan had nine points and 14 rebounds.

The Buckeyes stayed in the Big Ten race by winning on the road.

Ohio State quieted the Breslin Center crowd with a big run midway through the first half to grab a 23-12 lead. Buford had nine points in the first 12 minutes, while Dallas Lauderdale had three dunks off half-court sets.

Turner — battling cold and flulike symptoms — made only one of his first eight shots and scored just four points in the first half. But his teammates helped out and the Buckeyes took a 39-26 halftime lead.

The Spartans made just 9 of 27 shots in the first half, while committing nine turnovers.

Michigan State has the week off before traveling to Purdue for a Feb. 28 matchup.