Senior Kevin Tan said following the Temple meet last weekend that the men just needed to relax and compete like they practice.

Senior team captain Duke Van Vleet reiterated those sentiments just days before Saturday's crucial contest against Ohio State.

But he also added that some guys just practice really well and struggle to transfer that to the competitions, and then there are the super-talented guys that just compete well no matter what the circumstances.

"Everyone's different and you can't say that what works for someone else is going to work for you," Van Vleet said.

"As long as you do what you have to do."

The Penn State men's gymnastics team did what it had to do in Columbus Saturday night.

The No. 5 Nittany Lions edged No. 4 Ohio State by the slimmest of margins -- 218.800 to 218.750.

Sophomore Chad Buczek was outstanding in posting a career-high 54.250 in the all-around scoring, which was good enough to garner second-place for the meet.

Buczek scored a first-place finish on high bars, two second-place finishes on floor exercise and still rings, and a third-place on the vault for his Penn State team.

"Chad, he practices hard and it's great to see him go out there and hit sets like that," Tan said.

"He was pretty much the person that picked up the team and said this is what we have to do. ... It was great to see that happen."

Seniors Tan and Zack Roeder were double-event winners for the evening.

Tan continued his winning ways on the rings with a 9.750, and he also came away with the top score of 9.550 on high bar.

Roeder scored a season-high 9.450 on the vault, and he won the pommel horse with a 9.550.

The Lions dug themselves into a hole early on the floor exercise and pommel horse, but came back to tie the Buckeyes after dominating performances on the still rings and vault.

The stage was set for a gripping finish on two events that had not been so kind to the Lions in closing out Temple last weekend -- the parallel bars and the high bar.

"We just had to go out there and just do what we've been doing in practice ... I mean, we've been practicing great," Tan said.

"I think everyone was pretty much on the same page and kept fighting until the end, and that's what made the big difference."

Buczek's event-winning 9.300 wasn't enough, as the Lions narrowly lost the parallel bars by five-hundredths of a point, 36.100-36.050.

However, Tan stepped up and captured first-place on the high bar, completing the comeback in leading the Lions to a season-high 37.000 in the event.

The Buckeyes 36.900 high bar score wasn't enough to overcome the Lions late surge and earn the victory.