Indiana bounced back from losses to Iowa and Illinois with a 77-76 overtime win against Ohio State on Friday night at Value City Arena. The win improved the Hoosiers to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten play.

Here are five takeaways from the win against the Buckeyes:

Indiana responded after embarrassing performances against Iowa and Illinois

After back-to-back 25-point losses to Iowa and Illinois, how Indiana would respond Friday night in Columbus was an open question entering the game.

Would the Hoosiers falter again and allow a third-straight blowout loss? Or would IU regroup as Luke Goode suggested in the aftermath of the Illinois loss?

Indiana regrouped and from the opening tip, the energy was different. The Hoosiers competed for most of the 45 minutes against the Buckeyes. Even when shots weren’t falling in the first half, Indiana never let the game get out of reach.

As the second half began and perimeter shots began to fall, the Hoosiers made a move. By the 5:12 mark of the second half, Indiana led 68-58 and it appeared that a comfortable win was within reach.

However, Indiana faltered down the stretch as Ohio State went on a 13-3 run to close out regulation and force overtime. After falling behind to start the extra period, Goode’s 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining and Anthony Leal’s block with one second left lifted IU to a much-needed victory.

Luke Goode had a career night and IU needed every shot to win

Goode entered the starting lineup on Dec. 29 against Winthrop and has found his shooting stroke in the new year.

Friday marked Goode’s best performance of the season as he poured in a career-high 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field.

Goode was 4-for-7 on 3s. Through eight Big Ten games, Goode is 19-for-41 on 3s (46.3 percent). He’s scored in double figures in four of the last five games.

Nearly every Goode 3-pointer came at a key point in the game for Indiana. His first 3-pointer got the Hoosiers within three at 39-36 with 17:51 to play.

His second triple gave IU the lead at 43-41 at the 15:08 mark and his third stretched the lead to four at 50-46 with 12:50 remaining.

And in overtime, Goode’s 3-pointer with just over a minute to play lifted Indiana to its second conference road win. Goode played every minute of the second half and overtime.

Oumar Ballo dominates Ohio State in the post

Oumar Ballo finished with a double-double Friday night for the fifth time in six games.

The 7-foot, 265-pound big man has taken on a bigger scoring load in the absence of Malik Reneau. Against Ohio State, Ballo had 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting and a 5-for-7 performance from the free throw line.

Ballo also grabbed 15 rebounds with eight of those on the offensive end. He played 40 minutes and added three assists, two blocked shots and a steal.

In Big Ten games, Ballo is averaging 17.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 blocked shots in 32.1 minutes while shooting 66.3 percent from the field.

While there have been moments where Ballo’s effort has waned inside games, he’s playing the most minutes of his career. In Friday’s win, his hustle kept several possessions alive and his size was too much for the Buckeyes to handle at the rim.

Kanaan Carlyle provides a significant lift off the bench

For the first time since Dec. 9, sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle reached double figures in scoring against Ohio State.

The Atlanta native has struggled with his shooting all season but came alive on Friday night. With Myles Rice benched for most of the game with foul issues, Carlyle played a season-high 36 minutes and delivered his best overall game this season.

Carlyle finished with 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting. He made IU’s only 3-pointer of the first half and didn’t turn the ball over.

While he did struggle at the free throw line – he shot 2-for-5 – Carlyle’s energy on both ends was a major reason the Hoosiers escaped with a win.

Ten of Carlyle’s 13 points came in the second half and overtime, as his aggressive attack on the rim resulted in three layups.

Hoosiers add second Quad 1 win

As ugly as IU’s losses to Iowa and Illinois were, the reality is the Hoosiers still have plenty of opportunities to record NCAA tournament resume-worthy wins.

Friday night was one of those and IU took advantage.

The win against the Buckeyes was the second in Quad 1 of the season for the Hoosiers. The Buckeyes are No. 37 in the NCAA’s NET rankings.

Now 2-5 in Quad 1 games, the Hoosiers still have numerous opportunities to build a case for March Madness. Of Indiana’s remaining 12 regular season games, all 12 are Quad 2 or higher and eight of them are projected to be Quad 1.

With the win against Ohio State, Indiana currently sits at No. 61 in the NET rankings.

Filed to: Kanaan Carlyle, Luke Goode, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oumar Ballo

A dedicated Indiana pizza delivery driver walked half a mile through a dangerous snowstorm in a “very affluent” neighborhood before he was met with a $2 tip.

Connor Stephanoff, an employee at Rock Star Pizza, was seen walking in the treacherous conditions in Brownsburg, Ind. as multiple plows filled the street to clear the snow last week, according to footage posted by Avon Police Department Lieutenant Richard Craig.

Stephanoff initially drove to complete the order, but a school bus crash blocked the road.

That’s when Stephanoff decided to complete the journey on foot – wearing a sweatpants, sweater, a beanie and sneakers.

Craig was outside helping residents navigate the dangerous road conditions when he noticed Stephanoff trekking through the snow-covered street and told him to get out of the street and onto the sidewalk.

Stephanoff revealed that he had to walk in the snow to complete the $40 pizza delivery.

“Did you get a good tip?” Craig asked.

“Two dollars,” Stephanoff replied.

Stephanoff looked at the receipt again and corrected the number to $2.15. 

The officer was stunned.

“Two dollars?” Craig exclaimed. “Are you kidding me? Cold-blooded! Two dollars. Look at this man. This man walked through hell and high water to deliver a pizza.”

Craig was impressed by Stephanoff’s work ethic and dedication but was disgusted that a customer in a wealthy neighborhood would tip him so little during the terrible conditions.

“The delivery was about 1/4 mile past where the bus was blocking the street,” Craig captioned under his video. “This young man did not allow this to discourage him. He didn’t call his manager to complain, he didn’t call the customer and tell them their $40 pizza order could not be delivered. Oh no. THIS MAN IS BUILT DIFFERENT.”

Craig gave Stephanoff $15 bucks but set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $500.

The fundraiser has raised over $16,000 as of Saturday morning.

“I think what makes this story resonate is that at one time or another, any of us who has worked in a customer service position, has been Connor,” Rockstar Pizza wrote in a Facebook post. “We’ve gone over & above what anyone could ever ask of us, and the effort wasn’t appreciated. If not for Officer Craig, this would have just been another delivery shift for Connor.”

The restaurant added that they gave workers the option to stay home during the storm if they didn’t feel safe.

Stephanoff decided to work.

“He’s a great kid who works hard & we’re so happy to have him,” the restaurant added.

“Any condition, anytime, anywhere. You will get your pizza,” Stephanoff told WRTV.

Note: The video in the player above is from a previous report.

The northwest Indiana woman who was charged in the death of her 10-year-old foster son was sentenced on Friday, according to authorities.

Jennifer Lee Wilson, 48, was sentenced to six years in the Indiana Department of Correction, with one year suspended to be served on probation, according to the Porter County Prosecutor’s Office.

Wilson was charged with reckless homicide in connection with the death of Dakota Levi Stevens, who died after experiencing a medical emergency in April, authorities said. Wilson was arrested by sheriff’s deputies approximately 25 miles away – more than two months later – after a license plate reader camera detected her vehicle.

The foster mother stated that she laid on his midsection for several minutes during an incident earlier this year, according to court documents.

“Wilson stated that when she attempted to stop him from leaving, she does not know if she tackled Dakota or they fell to the ground however her intention was to hold him,” the court filing stated.

As she held Dakota down, Wilson stated she had one hand holding her phone and the other bracing her, authorities said. Wilson later asked Dakota “Are you faking?” rolled him over and it appeared his eyelids were pale, court documents stated.

Wilson then began CPR and called 911.

Officers made contact with a neighbor who stated that Dakota ran to her house approximately 30 minutes before emergency vehicles arrived. The neighbor stated Dakota asked her to adopt him because his parents hit him in the face and didn’t let him call his caseworker, officials said. The neighbor said she didn’t observe any signs Dakota was injured.

An autopsy revealed the cause of death as mechanical asphyxia and the manner of death as homicide. Dakota was 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 91 pounds, filings revealed. Wilson is 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 340 pounds, according to driver license records.