After making a steal, Ohio State’s Colin White splits Minnesota’s Langston Reynolds (6) and Isaac Asuma for a layup and a five-point lead in overtime. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Angie Greenwood)
Sophomore Colin White came off the bench, played 18 minutes and made two crucial plays late in regulation and one in overtime to help Ohio State get to 5-3 in the Big Ten.
Columbus, OH – The money players on the Ohio State basketball team – Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal, John Mobley Jr. – cashed in the kind of plays Tuesday night expected of them when payment was due. They are the primary reason the Buckeyes are not on a January losing streak for a change.
Logan Services, in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, proudly sponsor the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.
But what about the bench guys? Do they matter? They sure don’t score much. Sometimes they don’t play much.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes the OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Yes, they matter. And the deeper into the Big Ten season the Buckeyes get, the more they must contribute to the bottom line with winning plays.
Game 8 of the Buckeyes’ Big Ten schedule turned out to be a necessary night for the bench to earn its keep. Because without the non-starters the Buckeyes wouldn’t have survived Minnesota for an 82-74 overtime victory in front of a sparse crowd at the Schottenstein Center that, in the end, got its money’s worth.
“It’s just coming in and not having any drop off,” said Colin White, a sophomore forward from Ottawa-Glandorf who played a season-high 18 minutes after playing only one minute on Saturday against UCLA.
To keep winning Big Ten games at the rate the Buckeyes have so far, players like White, guard Gabe Cupps and center Ivan Njegovan must also contribute to the bottom line throughout the game and especially in crucial moments.
Cupps’ biggest night was nine points in a recent win at Oregon. Tuesday was White and Njegovan’s turn to earn their money late in regulation and in overtime.
The defense knows it’s coming, but they can do nothing about Bruce Thornton getting into the lane and scoring. He scored 16 of his 23 points after halftime.
White’s biggest moments were actually an improvement over some of the starters’ minutes. On a night when the Buckeyes had some concentration and fundamental lulls that allowed Minnesota to be in position to win in regulation, he made hustle plays.
With the clock ticking toward five minutes in regulation, White dug out an offensive rebound he probably shouldn’t have gotten. But he did and passed out to Thornton. Then Thornton did what he does best, got into the paint and scored his patented 10-foot jumper to tie the score at 53.
Minster Bank is a proud sponsor of the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros Magazine.com.
The Buckeyes trailed again as the clock hit one minute because they couldn’t stop the drives and left-handed finishes of Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (26 points). Then White dug out another offensive rebound and found Thornton again. This time Thornton drove to the rim, scored and was fouled. He added the free throw for a 67-65 lead.
White saved his highlight-reel play for overtime. He remembered the scouting report and head coach Jake Diebler’s reminder in a recent timeout. If Minnesota gets in the lane, look for a pass to a cutter.
Devin Royal made some big second-half shots and finished with 16 points.
White read the play and stepped in front of a pass below the foul line for a steal. This time he didn’t pass. He went coast to coast, didn’t stop to pay tolls, split two defenders and scored for a 76-71 lead with 1:50 left.
“I saw a lane, and most of my team was telling me to chill out a little bit, but coach said to be aggressive,” White said. “It was a big momentum swing.”
Minnesota called timeout, and the first players to enthusiastically greet White near the bench were Cupps and Njegovan.
White’s playing time was boosted by his play and an off night for freshman starter Amare Bynum who took one shot and didn’t score. Njegovan played 15 minutes, grabbed nine rebounds and made the final two free throws with 12 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
“He’s been on me, Taison (Chatman), Gabe and Ivan the last couple weeks,” White said of Diebler. “We need you guys to come in and be no drop off. So just coming in and making the dirty plays, getting offensive rebounds, getting assists. Those are little things that the bench can do to help the starters out, give them a breather.”
Koverman,Staley, Dickerson proudly supports your favorite high school sports on Press Pros Magazine.
For a change, the Buckeyes’ bench outscored the opponent 6-3. But it was the dirty plays like offensive rebounds, key defensive rebounds and, of course, White’s steal and score that made the most difference.
“Colin had some major, major plays,” Diebler said. “It started with just maximum effort and toughness. He was flying around on the offensive glass – probably should have gotten credit for four or five offensive rebounds the way he was tipping balls and keeping them alive.”
Christoph Tilly spent most of the night in foul trouble but he still grabbed five rebounds and scored 11 points.
White almost didn’t get the chance to make his big overtime play. At the end of 11 ties and 18 lead changes, including 11 in the final five minutes of regulation, the Gophers had a chance to win.
With the scored tied at 67, Mobley Jr. missed a jumper from just inside the 3-point arc with 13 seconds left. Langston Reynolds rushed the ball up court when suddenly the scarlet lane became the Red Sea.
Reynolds got past Bynum and attacked. White did his best to contest, but it looked like Reynolds would win the game. But his layup with :03 showing either bounced off the back of the rim or Bynum recovered and swatted it away.
Either way, the Gophers got the rebound and Cade Tyson heaved a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer. Overtime. No goaltending. No blocked shot credited to Bynum. And no argument from the Gophers.
Precision Strip proudly sponsors the best in area sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros.
Then it was on to overtime. And just like the 10-0 and 10-2 runs the Buckeyes had for the first four minutes of each half, they owned the extra five minutes. Their second possession was the only empty one.
“This team has continued to get better in those situations, and we’ve spent a lot of time practicing those,” Diebler said. “Our guys are really comfortable in the moment.”
John Mobley Jr. celebrates another Big Ten win. He scored 26 points to almost match the career high of 28 he scored Saturday against UCLA.
Just another nail-biter and hard-fought Big Ten win for the Buckeyes (13-5, 5-3) that pushed them two games above .500 in the conference for the first time since New Year’s Day 2023. That team went on to lose 14 of their next 15 games.
This team has a trip to No. 3 Michigan (17-1, 7-1) on Friday. The Buckeyes have won three of four league games since losing a home game to Nebraska they had every chance to win and thought they should have won.
“They’re playing really well, but we’re doing some really good things too,” Diebler said. “We’re going to go up there and give it our absolute best, and we are going to prepare our absolute best for this game. And this game means more. Yes, it counts as much on your Big 10 record as other games. But make no mistake, it’s this way, I would imagine, in every single sport.”
Huffer Chiropractic can help your athlete perform at their best – with offices in Osgood, Jackson Center, Marysville, and Dublin, Ohio.
The Buckeyes’ backcourt continued to produce at a high level against Minnesota. After scoring a career-high 28 Saturday against UCLA, Mobley Jr. started fast with 13 early points and finished with 26, making 5 of 11 3-pointers.
Thornton scored 23 after a slow start. But once he got going, he couldn’t be stopped with his trademark short jumpers in the lane and finishes at the rim through bump-and-go traffic.
“We knew the game plan on Mobley, but obviously we just couldn’t get to him enough,” Minnesota first-year coach Niko Medved said. “Bruce is one of the best players in the Big 10 – he’s tough as nails. Those guys really, really hurt us.”
And Royal, playing the 3 position while paying plenty of homage to his old 4 position, scored 16 with three offensive rebounds and five total. Tilly got his usual 11 points and five rebounds despite foul trouble and fouling out.
But the play of the game, the one that will be talked about the most in the next film session, will be White’s steal and score in overtime.
“It brought a smile to my face because it was a big-time play,” Diebler said. “In that moment, there was nothing but aggressive from him, and I loved it. He earned that moment.”
Lefeld Welding Supplies proudly sponsors high school sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros Magazine.com.