UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Ohio State's balanced scoring proved to be too much for Penn State's one-man show.

Point guard Evan Turner scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the second half as the ninth-ranked Buckeyes held off a late charge by the Nittany Lions for a 75-67 victory Wednesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Turner was one of four players in double figures for the Buckeyes (22-7, 12-4 Big Ten), who have beaten Penn State 13 consecutive times since January 2004. David Lighty contributed 18 points, Jon Diebler 16 and William Buford 12.

But the story was Turner. The Big Ten's leading scorer overcame a 1-for-7 shooting performance in the first half by going 7 of 10 in the second. He also made all 9 free throws, had 7 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

"There's really no way to guard him," Penn State point guard Talor Battle said.

"For the most part, no one has been able to stop him all year long."

Turner broke open a tight, 59-57 game with five minutes remaining by scoring eight consecutive points.

That sealed the win for Ohio State, which led by as many as 17 points in the second half.

"Evan's made several big plays for us down the stretch this year, and he made huge plays and baskets once again tonight," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said.

Battle, the Big Ten's second-leading scorer, finished with a team-high 22 points, but managed just 12 in the second half. He hit 7 of 19 shots and 6 of 9 free throws, but he missed a few wide open 3-pointers from the top of the key in the final minutes.

David Jackson added 13 points and six rebounds for Penn State (10-17, 2-13), which had its modest two-game winning streak snapped.

The Lions shot 44.4 percent (24 of 54) from the floor and 29.4 percent (5 of 17) from 3-point range. The Buckeyes shot 48.1 percent (26 of 54) from the field and 23.5 percent (4 of 17) from behind the arc.

"We gave ourselves a chance," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "We had a couple of shots that were wide open, but we just didn't make them."

Ohio State, 8-1 in its past nine games, led, 30-26, at intermission.

But the Buckeyes opened the second half with a 16-4 run to grab a 46-30 lead with 15:30 remaining.

Ohio State stretched its lead to 49-32 a short time later on Lighty's 3-pointer.

But then Battle and Jackson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Penn State to within 49-41. The Lions eventually climbed to within two points with 5:15 to play on Jackson's three-point play.

But the 6-foot-7 Turner, a national player of the year candidate, took over from there.

"I think we just came out flat in the second half," Battle said.

"There's no excuse. They went on a run and it gave them some confidence. We fought back from 17 points down, but we spent so much energy coming back, it was hard to hang in there."

Battle believes Turner, also a junior, has a bright future

"If I was an NBA coach or general manager, he'd be my first-round draft pick, not [Kentucky guard] John Wall," Battle said.

"I think he's the best player in the country."

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