COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Penn State men’s basketball team managed to turn an 18-point halftime deficit into a one-point game with just under 11 minutes to play but ultimately dropped an 84-78 decision to Ohio State on Monday night.

Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice helped push the pace offensively for the Nittany Lions on Monday, with the Gallatin, Tennessee, native booking a career-high 20 points with a career-best five 3-point makes in the defeat. Freshman forward Ivan Juric mustered an individual milestone of his own in Columbus, registering his first double-double at the collegiate level in addition to just the second double-double by a Nittany Lion this season.

The Zagreb, Croatia, native poured in 14 points with a career-high 14 rebounds to reach that milestone. Senior forward Josh Reed added 13 points, freshman guard Melih Tunca scored 13 in the second half alone, and freshman guard Kayden Mingo helped orchestrate things with a career-high-tying eight assists.

Ohio State won the opening tipoff and immediately scored on its opening possession, and the squads traded buckets early on to the tune of a 4-2 Buckeye advantage less than two minutes in. Rice drilled a triple from the right corner to give the Nittany Lions their first lead of the night, but Ohio State pulled right back in front to take a 9-5 lead at the game’s first media break.

A putback bucket from Juric made it an 11-9 Buckeye edge inside 14 minutes remaining in the first half, but OSU connected on a step back straight-away 3-ball to kick off a 14-2 scoring run that gave Ohio State a 25-11 lead with 9:26 to go.

A quartet of makes at the free throw line from Mingo and Dilione V helped keep PSU in the hunt, and a jumper from Reed off an offensive board saw the Nittany Lions remain within 10.

The Nittany Lions battled back and forth with their hosts as the opening half continued to tick away, with Stewart and Juric each connecting on 3-pointers en route to a 33-23 OSU advantage at the under-four media timeout.

Penn State and Ohio State traded makes from long distance over the next 90 seconds, and mid-range jumpers both ways led to a 41-28 Buckeye lead toward the end of the period. Ohio State carried a 50-32 advantage into the halftime intermission.

Rice immediately got the scoring going for Penn State as the second half got underway, nailing a shot from the left wing on PSU’s first possession of the period. Ohio State answered each PSU make early in the frame, but a pair of free throws from Reed helped the Nittany Lions stay within 15. Stewart cut it to a dozen with an emphatic left-wing triple, and a block by Reed helped set the tone for a Juric dunk to cap off a 7-0 PSU scoring stretch.