By Rusty Miller
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Nothing comes easy for short-handed Ohio State. Despite an 18-2 run in the first half, the Buckeyes needed several key plays to go their way down the stretch to hold off Tennessee Tech 71-64 on Saturday.

"We knew they were good. We knew we had a struggle ahead," said Ohio State's Sean Connolly.

The Buckeyes (2-2), still without their starting point guard and a backup forward, had lost their last two games, to No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Duke.

"Losing two in a row, we needed a win," said Terence Dials, who scored seven of his 13 points in that first-half spurt. "We have a lot of veterans on the team, a lot of guys who are three years deep. So we never panicked."

Tech (4-2) had won four in a row after a season-opening loss at Cincinnati.

"I know how I would've been if we would've lost because we have a week off," Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. "So it was a good win and the way it played out, it was like a first-round NCAA tournament game."

After trailing by as many as 16 points in the opening half, the Golden Eagles drew to 59-57 on two free throws by Antwyon Jones with 4:56 left. They never got closer.

"We did a great job of getting back in the game," Tech coach Mike Sutton said. "We just need to find a way to make a few plays at the end of the game."

Ohio State's Velimir Radinovic scored on a bucket inside off an assist from Brent Darby before the teams traded foul shots. Connolly, who scored 14 points, hit a runner while cutting through the lane before Tech's Brent Jolly made a 3-pointer. Emonte Jernigan then scored for the Buckeyes on a drive.

Damien Kinloch, who had 10 rebounds to go with his eight points, hit a layup off a pass from Greg Morgan to draw Tech to 66-63 with 1:39 left.

The Buckeyes put the game away on a Zach Williams basket inside - Darby again on the assist - with Williams, Jernigan and Connolly each hitting free throws in the closing seconds.

Darby had eight assists to go with his 15 points and four rebounds. Williams added 11 points. Dials had 11 rebounds to go with his 13 points.

"We were efficient on offense, especially down the stretch," said Darby, who scored 35 points in the loss to Duke on Tuesday night. "We got good shots off set plays."

Darby - who has played 40 minutes in all four Ohio State games - was the spark.

"Darby was terrific," O'Brien said. "We try to get a balance, to have him involved all the time and yet get his shots. And he has no seconds off and he's guarding Cameron Crisp, who is a Big Ten-type guard."

Ohio State has been limited to a seven-man rotation since losing starting point guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatham and backup forward Shun Jenkins to injuries. Fuss Cheatham (knee surgery) and Jenkins (broken finger) are both expected to return before the new year.

So Darby seldom comes out - and seldom lets up.

"You know Darby can beat you, so you have to limit his chances," Sutton said. "Still, he had eight assists and that's 16 points."

Crisp led the Golden Eagles with 14 points, with Jolly scoring 13 and Morgan 12 points.

The teams traded the lead early in the first half before the Buckeyes scored 18 of the next 20 points to turn a 15-14 lead at the 11:04 mark into a 33-16 lead with 2:48 left in the half.

The surge coincided with a defensive switch, with the Buckeyes moving from a man-to-man to a 1-3-1 matchup zone that seemed to confuse Tech.

In addition to Dials' seven points in the run, Matt Sylvester came off the bench to score five points and add two assists.

The Buckeyes improved to 39-5 in non-conference home games in O'Brien's six years as head coach.

TENNESSEE TECH (4-2)-Perkins 2-4 0-0 5, Kinloch 4-7 0-0 8, Morgan 4-4 4-8 12, Jolly 4-9 2-2 13, Crisp 5-13 1-2 14, Richardson 2-7 0-0 4, Clark 1-4 0-0 2, Boyd 0-2 0-0 0, Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Jones 2-5 2-2 6. Totals 24-57 9-14 64.

OHIO ST. (2-2)-Williams 5-12 1-3 11, Dials 4-8 5-9 13, Connolly 6-13 1-2 14, Darby 6-12 0-1 15, Jernigan 2-9 3-6 7, Radinovic 2-5 2-2 6, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Sylvester 1-5 2-2 5. Totals 26-64 14-25 71.

Halftime-Ohio St. 35, Tech 24. 3-point goals-Tech 7-22 (Jolly 3-6, Crisp 3-8, Perkins 1-2, Boyd 0-1, Clark 0-1, Richardson 0-4), Ohio St. 5-19 (Darby 3-5, Connolly 1-4, Sylvester 1-4, Jernigan 0-6). Fouled out-Kinloch, Crisp. Rebounds-Tech 39 (Kinloch 10), Ohio St. 37 (Dials 11). Assists-Tech 14 (Morgan 5), Ohio St. 13 (Darby 8). Total fouls-Tech 22, Ohio St. 16. A-14,777.