John Mobley Jr. stuffed the stat sheet Thursday night at Penn State to help lead his team to a second straight road win and back to an even 5-5 at the midpoint of the Big Ten schedule.
The best example of the Ohio State basketball team’s maturation at the halfway point of the Big Ten schedule shines most obviously in the play of a freshman guard.
John Mobley Jr. isn’t doing it by just making those long 3-pointers that make you go, “Ooh.” He’s not close to what anyone would call hot. But the rest of his game?
Minster Bank proudly sponsors the best area sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.com.On Thursday night in State College, Pennsylvania, Mobley did it all: eight assists, only one turnover, six rebounds. Oh, and he scored 19 points on 6 of 14 shooting, including 3 of 8 from three-point range.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
“I got to give John Mobley Jr. a shout out – five defensive rebounds,” Buckeyes head coach Jake Diebler said during his postgame radio interview. “I know the assist to turnover ratio was great, [he] made a few threes, but those five defensive rebounds … he’s continuing to grow and just continuing to get better.”
The entire team is jelling at the right time of the season. Led by Mobley, Bruce Thornton and everyone else, the Buckeyes rolled past Penn State in the second half to an 83-64 victory for their third straight win and second straight road win.
The Buckeyes (13-8, 5-5) have turned the corner on defense with wins at Purdue, at home against Iowa and at Penn State (13-9, 3-8). Iowa came to Columbus on Monday averaging 86 points a game. The Buckeyes held them to 65 points and well below their average shooting percentages.
Penn State came in averaging 82 points, shooting 48% overall and 35% from 3-point range and shot 46% and 32%. In addition, the Buckeyes limited the Nittany Lions to four offensive rebounds and only four second-chance points.
“We’re really connected,” Diebler said. “Now that we’re getting some experience and we’re getting some consistency, we’re starting to see us execute better and play a little smarter. That’s why our defense is starting to go to another level.”
He can shoot it…John Mobley, Jr. is making the most of Meechie Johnson’s starting spot, and shows no signs of giving it up.
Mobley Jr.’s rise to another level began when he inherited a starting spot after Meechie Johnson took a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. No matter what Johnson’s future is, Mobley Jr. is not giving up his starting spot.
Mobley Jr. missed two early 3-point shots, but it didn’t affect his overall game. He scored 13 in the first half as the Buckeyes built a 10-point halftime lead.
The Buckeyes went on some key runs to open leads in both halves. And those runs wouldn’t have happened without a succession of defensive stops.
The Buckeyes led 25-21 before an 18-12 run over the final 6:07 of the first half left them with a 43-33 lead. They led by as many as 15 on Devin Royal’s fast-break layup with 1:08 left.
The lead shrunk to six early in the second half at 45-39. Then the versatility Mobley Jr. brings to the backcourt paid off. He handled the ball more, allowing Thornton to play off the ball and look for open shots. Thornton, who scored 17 points, made consecutive 3-pointers, both on assists by Mobley Jr.
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Thornton’s two threes fueled a 9-2 run that pushed the lead to 67-50 with 9:28 left. The closest Penn State got afterward was 14. The lead hit 20 three times.
“We were able to get Bruce some open looks from three because we were able to move them around some, and I think that’s really important for us,” Diebler said.
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Royal added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Micah Parrish scored 12. Another key was the trio of big men in the post that were beset by foul trouble. Sean Stewart, Aaron Bradshaw and Ivan Njegovan combined for 17 points and 13 rebounds in a combined 39 minutes. Stewart and Bradshaw fouled out, and Njegovan finished with four fouls.
“Obviously tough with the fouls for our big guys, but by committee they were really good,” Diebler said.
Two other big stat lines: Ohio State 41 rebounds, Penn State 23. And the Lions made only 16 of 29 free throws.
In the end, Diebler saw for a third straight game just about everything a coach asks for.
“Our rebounding was really good, our defensive execution was really good, our movement offensively was better, and we took care of the ball,” he said.
The Buckeyes were listed on the last four in line this week on ESPN’s bracketology predictions. League road wins always boost the NCAA Tournament resume. Next up is a trip to No. 18 Illinois on Sunday afternoon.
“You can’t sit and be too happy,” Diebler said. “We’ll celebrate this one tonight, and then we got to turn the page quickly. We know how tough of a stretch we got coming up.”
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