Ohio State's Dallas Lauderdale dunks on Iowa's Matt Gatens during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jim Slosiarek)

It didn’t look good for the Ohio State Buckeyes going into the second half. After scoring a season-low 20 points in the first half and trailing by five, it seemed like the Iowa Hawkeyes would get a upset victory at home. But David Lighty and Evan Turner both changed that.

Lighty scored 20 points, including 18 in the second half, and the Buckeyes rallied past pesky Iowa 65-57 on Wednesday night for its fourth straight Big Ten win.

Evan Turner added 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for Ohio State (15-6, 5-3), which scored on its final 11 possessions. Turner posted his third consecutive double-double, and Ohio State is 5-2 since Turner returned from injury.

Ohio State shook off a sluggish start behind Lighty and Turner. They combined to score 32 of Ohio State’s 45 points in the second half to help stave off Iowa’s upset bid.

“We finally got the ball to go in the basket for us. That I think took a little of their momentum out of them,” Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. “That goes to the composure, that we were finally able to go out and get some easy ones.”

Ohio State took its first lead of the second half with 2:46 left, jumping ahead 52-50 on a runner by Lighty. Turner, who also had just two points in the first half, then got a steal and an easy dunk to put the Buckeyes ahead 55-50. Turner’s layup made it 57-50 with 1:04 left.
Ohio State outscored Iowa 27-12 over the final eight minutes for the win.

Eric May lead Iowa (8-13, 2-6) with 18 points, twice his season average (8.9 PPG), but no other Hawkeye scored in double figures.

Ohio State, whose only other road win came at Purdue on Jan. 12, now returns home for a three-game home stand and a chance to makes its move up the Big Ten standings.

That’s certainly good news for the Buckeyes, who are 12-0 at home this season.