He wanted the ball in his hands. He always wants the ball in his hands.

But on this night, John Amaechi, Penn State's 6-foot-10 center and go-to guy, was dwarfed by a 6-foot backup guard who had shot only seven free throws all year.

Doug Etzler, who entered the game only after two of Ohio State's front-line players fouled out, sunk two free throws with 18.7 seconds left, amongst the din of a capacity Rec Hall crowd, to give Ohio State (11-13, 4-9 Big Ten) a 60-57 win over Penn State (10-11, 3-9) on Saturday.

"I have all the confidence in Etzler to make free throws," Buckeye Coach Randy Ayers said. "I told him to keep the ball in his hands."

Of course, it was Amaechi who had the game in his hands on four free-throw attempts down the stretch. He missed every single one of them.

"I know personally, it was the most disappointing game I've had -- ever," Amaechi said after Penn State's fifth consecutive loss. "I've always said I wanted to have the ball in my hands in the end of the ballgame, and I didn't pull through this time."

But neither did anyone else. Rahsaan Carlton missed two three-pointers in the final seconds, and as a team, the Lions shot 36.8 percent from the field and 56.5 percent from the foul line. It was a horrendous display.

Then again, the Buckeyes were not exactly firing on all cylinders. They hit just 45.3 percent of their shots, relying on seniors Jamie Skelton and Lawrence Funderburke to carry them down the stretch. Skelton and Funderburke scored 12 of Ohio State's last 14 points -- and Etzler hit the other two.

Skelton, who finished with 20 points, nailed a beautiful 12-foot running jumper with 1 minute, 14 seconds to play, to give Ohio State a 58-57 lead. Funderburke had 16, including a running jump shot with 4:59 left that extended Ohio State's lead to 52-48.

"I thought the key play was Funderburke's jumper coming out of the timeout," Ayers said.

But there were plenty of key plays -- and the Lions misfired on every single one of them. When Carlton's second three-point attempt hit the back of the iron, the Rec Hall fans must have looked forward to leaving the cold shooting for the warm weather.

"You could easily look at four or five situations that you could call critical," Penn State Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "If you get good shots, you either make them or you don't."

Notes:

-- Power forward Matt Gaudio, who had missed the last two games due to a mysterious stomach ailment, played 15 minutes and scored 10 points despite sporadic pain.

Gaudio's condition remains undiagnosed.

-- Penn State will host Iowa on Wednesday night at 8 p.m.