Bruce Thornton’s ability to get downhill into the paint and score 32 points gave Ohio State a fighting chance. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Howard)
With Devin Royal sick and John Mobley Jr. still injured, Bruce Thornton scores 32 points, but that and another good defensive effort aren’t enough to pull off the upset.
East Lansing, MI – Bruce Thornton believes in the Ohio State basketball program. He proves it every game.
The Precision Strip Company, of Minster, supports area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Actually, according to head coach Jake Diebler, Thornton proves his love for his team with every rep in practice and every second of every game.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes the OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com. Follow on X @jw_gilbert
“Bruce is not an every-day guy, he’s an every-rep guy,” Diebler has said many times.
But the belief it takes to earn an NCAA Tournament bid and be an every-game team needs more help than even Thornton can give to come true. To turn belief into reality and win a game or two the Buckeyes aren’t supposed to, they need to catch some breaks.
On the good side, Thornton scored 32 points and led a defensive effort that kept Michigan State leading scorer Jeremy Fears Jr. ineffective for most of the game. But on the bad side, the Buckeyes got more bad breaks Sunday before they took the court than even Thornton on one of his best days couldn’t combat.
Logan Services, with locations in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, proudly sponsors your favorite area sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.com.
With second-leading scorer John Mobley Jr. already sidelined with a hand injury, sickness continued to infect the team. Third-leading scorer Devin Royal didn’t play. Amare Bynum, whose recent production raised his offensive efficiency, was a game-time decision to play. He clearly wasn’t himself. He didn’t score.
“We’re definitely going to get one of these games. We keep sticking to our game plans, everybody just buying in, and guys get more healthy, I feel like we have a chance.” – Bruce Thornton
Predictably, the Buckeyes weren’t deep enough to replace Mobley Jr. and Royal’s absence from the box score. And No. 15 Michigan State found the ways the Buckeyes couldn’t in the final minutes to avoid the upset for a 66-60 victory.
However, in defeat, the always optimistic Thornton – shrouded in his four-year captain’s cape – was not dissuaded that the March sun will shine on his team. Not even after, for the seventh time, the Buckeyes lost a game Sunday they felt they should have won.
Now the Buckeyes (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten) must find those elusive ways to get that signature win or two to stamp a passport into March Madness. They go to Iowa Wednesday. And they have home games left against Purdue and Indiana.
“We’re definitely going to get one of these games,” Thornton said. “We keep sticking to our game plans, everybody just buying in, and guys get more healthy, I feel like we have a chance.”
Minster Bank proudly sponsors the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Even with the M*A*S*H unit sitting on the bench the Buckeyes played with the grit and determination their captain’s example demands. The final minutes, even in defeat, displayed the gritty, tough culture Diebler has built in his two-plus seasons.
“It’s next man up, stuff we’ve talked about since June,” Diebler said. “I’m really proud of the way guys stepped up. Obviously, would have loved to make a couple more shots. But we battled, we fought, we were on the floor. We played with some really good toughness, and that’s a positive to take from this.”
Christoph Tilly provided the most offensive support to Bruce Thornton with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Christoph Tilly was the clear second option and drew attention. He managed 10 points and eight rebounds. It was his second straight take-it-hard-to-the-rim basket that put the Buckeyes up 45-43 with 10:12 left.
Then the Spartans (22-5, 12-4) started to find their way on offense and fully leave behind a 29.6%-shooting first half. Fears Jr. found his way into the paint finally, some good sets produced some easy shots next to the rim and the Spartans used a methodical 18-6 run to lead 61-51 with 2:50 left.
EB Real Estate, Darke County’s sales leader, proudly sponsors the best area sports on Press Pros Magazine.
Until then, when the Spartans found some ways to get some easier baskets than the Buckeyes had allowed the first 30 minutes, Ohio State’s defense played with the same verve it did against Virginia and Wisconsin. A verve tied to better communication that has kept three straight opponents in the 60s.
“We’ve shown improvement in that area now for a few games, and that carried over today,” Diebler said. “We executed longer, better, but it just wasn’t long enough.”
Christoph Tilly battles for a rebound with Michigan State’s Cameron Ward. The Spartans outrebounded the Buckeyes 43-26.
Yet, the Buckeyes didn’t give in to the Spartans or the crowd that was finally allowed into the game.
After MSU went up 63-53 with 1:35 left, the Buckeyes sliced the lead to 63-60 on two Thornton buckets sandwiched around one by Tilly. The Spartans helped the comeback when Coen Carr missed two free throws.
But with nine seconds left Jordan Scott made a free throw, and the Buckeyes were out of time and possessions.
“Big-time response when they went up 10,” Diebler said. “We just can’t allow ourselves to get in that situation on the road, in this big-time environment, against a really good team. But kept battling, we stayed with it, and that was a good thing for us.”
To really see where the Buckeyes lost, look no farther than the three-point and free-throw percentages. They made only 4 of 22 from 3-point range (18.2%) and 10 of 17 (58.8%) from the line.
Wilson Health/Orthopedics proudly sponsors the best in area sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros.
Far cries from season averages of 34.9% and 78.3%. Taison Chatman, starting in place of Mobley Jr. – the team’s best 3-point shooter – was one for five from behind the arc. Royal and Bynum combined to make 7 of 11 against Wisconsin on Tuesday. Bynum missed both of his attempts Sunday.
“If we would have had at least maybe two more threes, and if I would have made my free throws the game would have looked different,” Tilly said. “It’s not like we lost in a way that we can’t control it. We can control how we execute. We can control making free throws. And that’s what cost us the game.”
Amid everything late this season is Thornton’s pursuit to become Ohio State’s career scoring leader. His seventh point Sunday moved him past Herb Williams (2,011) into second and he reached 2,037 points. At this pace he will pass Dennis Hopson’s record of 2,096 points before the regular season ends.
Puff Johnson got his first start as a Buckeye in place of Devin Royal. He gave the Buckeyes two points in 19 minutes.
During pregame shooting, Michigan State Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo had a short conversation with Thornton.
“Just to say thank you,” Thornton said. “He’s very appreciative of my game and that it’s neat to stay at Ohio State for four years, saying most people just don’t do that anymore. It means a lot, especially a legendary coach like that.”
Then Thornton went out and did just what Izzo was scared of. He got to the paint and scored on short jumpers and strong finishing layups. He carried his team on his back. But faced with two starters on the bench, Thornton needed another back in addition to Tilly’s to lighten the load.
Two sayings keep the Buckeyes going, shorthanded or not, starved for a big win or not, disappointed in a close loss or not.
“Right now it’s we got to find a way, like we got to find a way tomorrow to get a little healthier and prepare well, and then we got to find a way to do that again, and we got to find a way to get a win.” – Jake Diebler
On of them has been with the Buckeyes since before the season. They put it on T-shirts.
“We always have this saying, ‘winning over everything,’” Tilly said. “Every day we go to the gym we see that, and so that’s what we do. We put that over our feelings, over our mood and all that, and we put the team first. Obviously, today was a little bit rough. We still put everything in the team, over ourselves.”
The injuries and sickness have developed another saying Diebler must keep on repeat: “We got to find a way.” He doesn’t mourn losses long. He doesn’t mourn adversity.
“I don’t have any time right now to think about that,” he said. “Right now it’s we got to find a way, like we got to find a way tomorrow to get a little healthier and prepare well, and then we got to find a way to do that again, and we got to find a way to get a win.”
Knapke Kitchens and Baths proudly sponsor the Buckeyes on Press Pros Magazine.com.