As Brent Darby dribbled out the final seconds of Ohio State's 76-67 victory over Penn State last night at the Bryce Jordan Center, he made his way toward a referee standing near the Buckeye bench.

Darby was clearly mad. Moments before, the ref had called him for his fourth foul and Darby wanted to let him know what he thought of the call.

Darby had 27 points last night. Imagine if the same call had been made and Darby had just played a bad game. Watch out.

But that's the way he is and, so far at least, it's been working for him. Last night's virtuoso performance was just another chapter in what has been quite a senior season for the shooting guard from Detroit.

In a game the Buckeyes had to have, Darby nearly won it single-handedly for them. In addition to his 27 points and seven assists, Darby made the Ohio State team run smoothly.

His reputation forced the Nittany Lions to focus their defensive game plan around him and his driving and passing ability set up easy shots for his teammates.

He was the game's focal point and he didn't disappoint.

"He's just a great player," Penn State head coach Jerry Dunn said. "He can do everything, shoot, dribble and drive. I don't think there's another guy in this league that has gotten more out of his ability than him."

This has not been a typical year for Ohio State. The Buckeyes have struggled and are under .500 in the conference and just barely over that mark overall.

Last night was a must win and they leaned on Darby to make sure the job got done.

"Coming in we needed to get more shots for Brent," Ohio State head coach Jim O'Brien said. "We've had a tough time scoring points lately. We tried to spread the game out and give Brent more space."

O'Brien put in a series of new plays leading up to the game to get Darby the ball. From the start, they were working.

Out of Darby's 27 points, 16 came in the first half when it seemed like he couldn't be stopped. By the time the Lions began to slow him down, the game was out of reach.

"In earlier games, I think I was too passive at the start," Darby said standing outside the Ohio State locker room in the bowels of the Jordan Center. "The coaches told me to go out and be more aggressive tonight and I did. I was able to finish some shots and things worked out."

For Penn State, things are not working out. Darby's performance and others like it are becoming a familiar trend to Lion fans. From Chris Booker to Kirk Penney to last night, someone steps up and dominates a game, and they're almost never wearing a Penn State uniform.

In many eyes, tonight was where a line had to be drawn between Penn State and an 0-16 Big Ten record.

There's no denying that they went all out for the victory. The effort was present and clear.

But winning is easier said than done with players like Brent Darby standing in the way.