COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The first time Ohio State beat Michigan this year, it was because of the Buckeyes' superlative outside shooting.
In the rematch, it came down to muscle, defense and the bench.
Terence Dials had his fifth consecutive double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds and No. 13 Ohio State stayed atop the Big Ten with a 64-54 victory over the Wolverines on Saturday.
"I've been beating the drum for defense all season," coach Thad Matta said. "That is something that as we go down the stretch we need to be able to hang our hat on."
The Buckeyes (21-4, 10-4) hit 16 of 22 free throws to Michigan's six of nine.
J.J. Sullinger added 13 points and eight rebounds for Ohio State, and the bench provided 17 points: Ron Lewis had eight, Ivan Harris five and Matt Terwilliger four.
"In both of the games against Michigan, the bench was the difference," Matta said.
Ron Coleman scored 13 points, Daniel Horton -- who had 39 points against Illinois in his last game -- finished with 12 and Courtney Sims had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan (18-8, 8-7), which dropped its fourth straight road game. In the earlier meeting, Sims had 26 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
"It was really a struggle for us offensively," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said.
Horton was 4-of-16 from the field and 2-of-8 on 3-pointers.
"I didn't want to let him get going," said Ohio State's Jamar Butler, who guarded Horton most of the game. "That's what he did against Illinois. The team helped me out with him."
Two of the shooting stars in the Buckeyes' 94-85 win at Michigan on Feb. 9 -- in which they hit 15-of-24 3-pointers -- had off games. Je'Kel Foster, who had 17 points in that game, scored two points and didn't make a field goal. Reigning Big Ten player of the week Butler was limited to five points.
Dials has broken out of a midseason slump to average 19.6 points and 12.6 rebounds over the last five games.
"I'm shooting a lot more and staying aggressive," Dials said. "The guards are doing a great job of finding me in spots where I can score. They make it easy for me."
Amaker said it was apparent that Dials is playing his best as his collegiate career comes to an end.
"He's a big-time post presence," Amaker said. "His double-double and his ability to score around the rim was certainly hurtful for us."
Dials continually came up with deep rebounds and loose balls in the lane. When Sims got the ball inside, Dials always seemed to be there to offer resistance.
"He's finishing better than he was earlier in the season," Matta said. "His defense was 100 times better than the last time we played Michigan."
Ahead by five at the half, the Buckeyes pulled away by beating the Wolverines off the dribble and inside. Matt Sylvester hit two free throws after drawing a fourth foul on Michigan starting forward Graham Brown, then Sullinger scored inside off a nifty assist from Foster. Dials then hurried downcourt after a missed shot and dunked off a pass from Butler to make it 33-24.
The Wolverines cut the lead to four points twice before Harris hit two big shots. Scoring on consecutive possessions, Harris touched off a 10-0 run by hitting a 15-foot fallaway off an inbounds pass, then made a long, arching 3-pointer in transition to push the lead to 53-41.
"Any time Ivan comes into the game, something's going to happen," Sullinger said. "The basket's huge for him."
Sullinger followed with a 10-footer in traffic and Dials scored inside and then later hit a foul shot. All of a sudden, it was 58-41 with five minutes left and the Buckeyes were in control despite an awful shooting day.
Ohio State, which shot 61 percent from the field in the earlier meeting, was held under 40 percent for the fourth time this season.
