Bruce Thornton overcame a miserable first half to score 21 points and the game-winner in double overtime against West Virginia. (Press Pros File Photos)
The scoreboard was as bleak as a mid-winter snowy night seven minutes into the second half. But Ohio State dug itself out of the ditch and followed Bruce Thornton to victory.
Ohio State head basketball coach Jake Diebler says Bruce Thornton’s defining trait is his will to win. And what a will it was for 50 minutes Saturday night in Cleveland.
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Thornton played the role of hero-to-the-rescue his team desperately needed, making the winning shot with 3.3 seconds left, to defeat West Virginia 89-88 in double overtime.
And maybe, just maybe, Thornton’s late-night heroics and 21-point performance helped the Buckeyes figure out what is required to be consistent and poised enough to withstand the physicality and toughness of the fast-approaching bulk of the Big Ten season.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
That’s a big if. One that’s premature to buy into. Because one second-half comeback and two thrilling overtimes don’t make a season. But after the failures in Tuesday’s home loss to Illinois left the emptiest feeling of the season, the Buckeyes needed a doldrums-shaking victory.
“Tremendous toughness, togetherness by the Buckeyes,” Diebler said on the postgame radio show. “I mean, just absolute, never give up, never quit, fight to the end. It was really impressive.”
With snow falling across Ohio, the Buckeyes were snowbound in the second half, trailing by 16 points, unable to move, stuck in interstate traffic. Then as the clock ticked under 13 minutes, the will to win surfaced, no doubt coaxed by Thornton’s leadership.
Amare Bynum, Devin Royal, Christoph Tilly, John Mobley Jr. and Thornton all made big contributions in a 24-8 closing run to force the first overtime.
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Royal’s tying free throw with 23 seconds left in the first overtime kept the game alive. Then it was Thornton’s turn to thrust himself into the Rocket Arena spotlight.
Thornton used his strength and guile to score 10 of the Buckeyes’ 12 points in the five-minute period. On the other end he continued to chase West Virginia’s Honor Huff whose 3-point shooting late in regulation and in both overtimes was just as heroic.
Like the rest of them, John Mobley, Jr. recovered in the second half to finish with 17 points in the Cleveland win over WVU.
In case you changed channels or settled down for a long winter’s nap when the Buckeyes trailed by 10 at halftime or when the deficit reached 15 in the second half, here’s how the second overtime went.
The Mountaineers went up two on free throws. Then Thornton was fouled and made two to tie the score at 79.
Next, Huff, who scored 24 points, couldn’t free himself for a shot and passed to Jackson Fields near the basket for an 81-79 WVU lead.
Now it was time for the Buckeyes to live in the paint, real estate they dominated 48-22. Thornton got there to tie the score at 81. Free throws put the Mountaineers up by two again.
Mobley Jr. attacked the basket next and dropped a pass to Tilly for a dunk and a tie at 83 with 1:50 left.
Thornton forced his way into the paint again and scored: 85-83 Buckeyes with 58 seconds left. But WVU wasn’t finished. Huff passed out of a double team to Brenen Lorient for a 3-pointer for an 86-85 lead with 39 seconds left.
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Thornton found the paint again and was fouled with 26 seconds left. He made both for an 87-86 lead. Then it was Huff’s turn again.
Huff previously hit contested, falling away or leaning 3-pointers for a 66-61 lead with under three minutes left in regulation, to start the first overtime, and with 1:01 left in the first overtime for a one-point lead.
With 12 seconds left, Huff dribbled to the right corner and launched a 3-point shot over Thornton’s tight defense while fading toward the baseline. Swish. WVU led 88-87.d
The Buckeyes’ final play was obvious. Thornton in the paint. A crossover dribble got him there. Then he leaned into a tall defender, leaned back, elevated off two feet and made the shot with 3.3 seconds left. Nineteen of his points came after halftime.
The Mountaineers’ long inbounds pass didn’t connect, and the Buckeyes had turned Rocket Arena into an escape room win.
“All he cares about is winning,” Diebler said. “He just wants to do whatever it takes to win. He truly is one of the absolute special players in college basketball, and he showed why tonight.”
Some Thornton DNA rubbed off on Bynum, a freshman forward, in the second half. He started the half and scored 15 of his 17 points. He brought energy, baskets that fueled the comeback and a physical presence on the glass with eight rebounds and at the rim with three blocked shots to make a case for being in the starting lineup.
“He’s really coming into his own right in front of our eyes,” Diebler said. “He just keeps getting better and better because he keeps approaching every single day the same. He wants to get better and help Ohio State win, and I think that’s what we’re seeing come to fruition on the court.”
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Tilly added 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Royal had 11 points and 10 rebounds. But the player who needed to bounce back the most from a recent run of unsatisfying performances was Mobley Jr. He scored 17 points, made 3 of 6 from 3-point range and all six of his free throws.
Mobley Jr.’s biggest shot was a high-arcing 3-point shot over a defender as the shot clock was running out with 52 seconds left in regulation. The basket put the Buckeyes up 68-66. Then with four seconds left he took a charge to stop WVU’s attempt to win.
“He played a mature game,” Diebler said. “He was able to get the right shots, and he was able to play through the paint at times and not just settle side to side. He wants to do this at a really high level. He’s got the ability, and I thought tonight was a huge step forward in the right direction for him.”
The Buckeyes face North Carolina next Saturday in Atlanta. And after a home game against Grambling State two days before Christmas, it’s all Big Ten starting January 2 at Rutgers.
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