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Ohio State hangs 100 on Indiana State as Thornton sets career-high in 103-83 win
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The Buckeyes played with their food for a bit too long, but pulled away late to knock off Larry Bird’s alma mater.
Jake Diebler’s biggest Christmas present this year was a win over No. 4 Kentucky last weekend in the CBS Sports Classic, and in return, he gave his team four days off to spend time with family for the holiday. But the Buckeyes returned to the floor Sunday afternoon against the Indiana State Sycamores (8-5), picking up a 103-83 victory in the final non-conference game of the season. Ohio State now heads full-steam ahead into the Big Ten schedule with a record of 9-4, including a 1-1 record in conference play.
Meechie Johnson was the only player listed as “out” prior to Sunday’s game, as the senior guard remains away from the team while dealing with a personal matter. John Mobley, who is averaging 12.3 points per game this season, started in his place alongside Bruce Thornton, Evan Mahaffey, Devin Royal, and Sean Stewart.
Micah Parrish was listed as “questionable” before the game but did not play with an ankle injury. Mahaffey started in his place.
Indiana State, led by first-year head coach Matthew Graves, went with a starting five of Samage Teel, K’mani Doughty, Bruno Alocen, Camp Wagner, and Markus Harding.
Indiana State jumped out to an early 5-1 lead following a Doughty three and a layup from Alocen. But Thornton knocked down a three to kickstart Ohio State’s offense, and the Buckeyes cut the deficit to 8-7 at the first media timeout with 15:49 still to go in the first half.
Ohio State pushed the Sycamores in transition and took the lead 20 seconds after that media timeout, going ahead by nine points momentarily. However, Indiana State got three-pointers from Alocen, Wagner, and Teel over a two-minute stretch to cut Ohio State’s lead to 28-24 by the 7-minute mark of the first half.
The Sycamores ended the half on a heater from beyond the arc, knocking down eight three-pointers over the final 10:22. They tied the game at 46 with 1:48 left in the first half, but Ohio State got a three-pointer from Thornton — his third of the game — in the final minute, and jogged to the locker room up 52-47.
A 6-0 Sean Stewart run early in the half pushed Ohio State ahead by a dozen points (63-51) at the first media timeout of the second half with 15:45 remaining in the game. The Sycamores missed both of their three-point attempts during that first “four-minute war” of the second half, and Ohio State pulled ahead in the meantime.
It wasn’t a blowout, but Ohio State held on to that 10-15 point lead for the majority of the second half, holding off the Sycamores in an entertaining Sunday tilt, 103-83.
If you weren’t part of the largest home crowd of the season Sunday afternoon to see Ohio State pick up its third win in a row, here are a few key moments during the Buckeyes’ win over the fighting Larry Birds:
Indiana State jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, and then Mobley made it worse by fouling Wagner on a three-point attempt. Wagner knocked down all three free throws, giving the Sycamores an 8-5 lead. 3:32 into the game.
Freshman forward Colin White missed the last six games due to an ankle injury suffered in the final seconds of Ohio State’s 102-69 win over Green Bay on November 25, but was not on the injury report Sunday and checked into the game 5:47 after it began. He got huge applause from the crowd, which included several dozen people behind the basket wearing “White” Ohio State and Ottawa-Glandorf jerseys.
Indiana State’s Jaden Daughtry scored to tie the game 15-15 around the 14-minute mark. After that, Ohio State went on a 9-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 24-15, with 10:38 left in the first half. The baskets in that run went like this, in order:
The Sycamores entered Sunday’s game as the 37th-best three-point shooting team in the nation at 38%, with six players shooting 35% or better from beyond the arc. Indiana State also averages 11 made three-pointers per game.
On Sunday afternoon, ISU went 9-for-20 in the first half, getting multiple triples from four different starters over the first 20 minutes. They knocked down eight three-pointers over the final 10:22 of the half and tied the game momentarily before the Buckeyes went back ahead by five at halftime.
Indiana State’s Aaron Gray scored to make it 53-49 Ohio State with 18:42 left in the game. Ohio State — really, just Stewart — went on a 6-0 run over the next 42 seconds, taking its first double-digit lead of the day, 59-49.
Mobley found Stewart on a drive-and-dish for the first basket to make it 55-49. On the next possession, Thornton passed to Mahaffey below the basket, who shot faked to get his defender in the air and then passed to a cutting Stewart, who slammed it home to make it 57-49. On the next possession 20 seconds later, Thornton and Stewart were sprinting down the floor on a break, and the lone defender stuck to Thornton. PG1 saw that Stewart would be open on the other side, so he threw a lob as he ran and Stewart went up, grabbed it on the run, and threw down a two-handed slam for his third basket in 42 seconds.
Stewart landed, screamed towards the rafters, and Indiana State was forced to call a timeout, trailing by 10 just 2:26 into the second half. Aaron Bradshaw ran up and chest bumped his teammate, and was followed by the rest of the Buckeyes off the bench.
Sunday’s game was Glover’s fifth of the season due to his sitting out eight games with an ankle injury suffered during Ohio State’s loss to Texas A&M on November 15. He set a season-high in scoring during the first half, dropping 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, plus five assists, three rebounds, and one steal in 16 minutes.
Glover scored again early in the second half to push that total to 12, but he picked up three more fouls before the under-12 timeout, giving him four for the game. He went to the bench around the 12-minute mark.
With Ohio State leading 86-74 and 6:11 remaining in the game, Thornton was fouled by Luckey, Ohio native Derek Vorst while driving to the basket.
Thornton went to the line to shoot, but before he took his first a whistle was blown and Indiana State’s Teel was assessed a technical foul, assumedly for something he said to either Sean Stewart (who was standing next to him) or to the officials.
Because of the technical foul, Thornton was able to shoot four free throws, and Ohio State retained possession. Thornton knocked down all four to put Ohio State up 90-76.
After Thornton had the four-free throw possession, he also scored on each of Ohio State’s next two possessions, making it an 8-0 Thornton run to put the Buckeyes up 94-75. It was also the second consecutive 30-point game for the junior guard, who had 30 last weekend against Kentucky. Prior to last weekend, Thornton had never scored 30 points in a game during his time at Ohio State.
Ohio State (9-4, 1-1) will welcome the No. 18 Michigan State Spartans (10-2, 2-0) to the Schott for a Friday night Big Ten battle on Jan. 3. The Buckeyes have won each of their last two games against the Spartans, including a buzzer-beating winner last season in East Lansing.
Tom Izzo’s 30th Michigan State team is No. 15 in the nation according to KenPom, No. 23 in the NET rankings, and No. 18 in last week’s AP Poll. They’ve started the season 2-0 in Big Ten play with wins over Minnesota and Nebraska.
Ohio State’s Friday night game against MSU will tip off at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
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Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes played with their food for a bit too long, but pulled away late to knock off Larry Bird’s alma mater.
Jake Diebler’s biggest Christmas present this year was a win over No. 4 Kentucky last weekend in the CBS Sports Classic, and in return, he gave his team four days off to spend time with family for the holiday. But the Buckeyes returned to the floor Sunday afternoon against the Indiana State Sycamores (8-5), picking up a 103-83 victory in the final non-conference game of the season. Ohio State now heads full-steam ahead into the Big Ten schedule with a record of 9-4, including a 1-1 record in conference play.
Meechie Johnson was the only player listed as “out” prior to Sunday’s game, as the senior guard remains away from the team while dealing with a personal matter. John Mobley, who is averaging 12.3 points per game this season, started in his place alongside Bruce Thornton, Evan Mahaffey, Devin Royal, and Sean Stewart.
Micah Parrish was listed as “questionable” before the game but did not play with an ankle injury. Mahaffey started in his place.
Indiana State, led by first-year head coach Matthew Graves, went with a starting five of Samage Teel, K’mani Doughty, Bruno Alocen, Camp Wagner, and Markus Harding.
Indiana State jumped out to an early 5-1 lead following a Doughty three and a layup from Alocen. But Thornton knocked down a three to kickstart Ohio State’s offense, and the Buckeyes cut the deficit to 8-7 at the first media timeout with 15:49 still to go in the first half.
Ohio State pushed the Sycamores in transition and took the lead 20 seconds after that media timeout, going ahead by nine points momentarily. However, Indiana State got three-pointers from Alocen, Wagner, and Teel over a two-minute stretch to cut Ohio State’s lead to 28-24 by the 7-minute mark of the first half.
The Sycamores ended the half on a heater from beyond the arc, knocking down eight three-pointers over the final 10:22. They tied the game at 46 with 1:48 left in the first half, but Ohio State got a three-pointer from Thornton — his third of the game — in the final minute, and jogged to the locker room up 52-47.
A 6-0 Sean Stewart run early in the half pushed Ohio State ahead by a dozen points (63-51) at the first media timeout of the second half with 15:45 remaining in the game. The Sycamores missed both of their three-point attempts during that first “four-minute war” of the second half, and Ohio State pulled ahead in the meantime.
It wasn’t a blowout, but Ohio State held on to that 10-15 point lead for the majority of the second half, holding off the Sycamores in an entertaining Sunday tilt, 103-83.
If you weren’t part of the largest home crowd of the season Sunday afternoon to see Ohio State pick up its third win in a row, here are a few key moments during the Buckeyes’ win over the fighting Larry Birds:
Undisciplined Ohio State defense hands Sycamores early lead
Indiana State jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, and then Mobley made it worse by fouling Wagner on a three-point attempt. Wagner knocked down all three free throws, giving the Sycamores an 8-5 lead. 3:32 into the game.
Welcome back, Colin White
Freshman forward Colin White missed the last six games due to an ankle injury suffered in the final seconds of Ohio State’s 102-69 win over Green Bay on November 25, but was not on the injury report Sunday and checked into the game 5:47 after it began. He got huge applause from the crowd, which included several dozen people behind the basket wearing “White” Ohio State and Ottawa-Glandorf jerseys.
9-0 run puts some space between Buckeyes, Sycamores
Defense Offense
Ques Glover with a steal on one end and a clean mid-range jumper on the other @OhioStateHoops #B1GMBBall on @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/cdOLGsdELF
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 29, 2024
Indiana State’s Jaden Daughtry scored to tie the game 15-15 around the 14-minute mark. After that, Ohio State went on a 9-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 24-15, with 10:38 left in the first half. The baskets in that run went like this, in order:
- Ques Glover three-pointer
- Sean Stewart layup
- John Mobley layup
- Bruce Thornton layup
Indiana State gets hot from beyond the arc, keeping it close at half
The Sycamores entered Sunday’s game as the 37th-best three-point shooting team in the nation at 38%, with six players shooting 35% or better from beyond the arc. Indiana State also averages 11 made three-pointers per game.
On Sunday afternoon, ISU went 9-for-20 in the first half, getting multiple triples from four different starters over the first 20 minutes. They knocked down eight three-pointers over the final 10:22 of the half and tied the game momentarily before the Buckeyes went back ahead by five at halftime.
Sean Stewart scores six points in 42 seconds
Indiana State’s Aaron Gray scored to make it 53-49 Ohio State with 18:42 left in the game. Ohio State — really, just Stewart — went on a 6-0 run over the next 42 seconds, taking its first double-digit lead of the day, 59-49.
Mobley found Stewart on a drive-and-dish for the first basket to make it 55-49. On the next possession, Thornton passed to Mahaffey below the basket, who shot faked to get his defender in the air and then passed to a cutting Stewart, who slammed it home to make it 57-49. On the next possession 20 seconds later, Thornton and Stewart were sprinting down the floor on a break, and the lone defender stuck to Thornton. PG1 saw that Stewart would be open on the other side, so he threw a lob as he ran and Stewart went up, grabbed it on the run, and threw down a two-handed slam for his third basket in 42 seconds.
Stewart landed, screamed towards the rafters, and Indiana State was forced to call a timeout, trailing by 10 just 2:26 into the second half. Aaron Bradshaw ran up and chest bumped his teammate, and was followed by the rest of the Buckeyes off the bench.
Season-high for Ques Glover
Sunday’s game was Glover’s fifth of the season due to his sitting out eight games with an ankle injury suffered during Ohio State’s loss to Texas A&M on November 15. He set a season-high in scoring during the first half, dropping 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, plus five assists, three rebounds, and one steal in 16 minutes.
Glover scored again early in the second half to push that total to 12, but he picked up three more fouls before the under-12 timeout, giving him four for the game. He went to the bench around the 12-minute mark.
Teel T’d up, Thornton knocks down all four free throws
With Ohio State leading 86-74 and 6:11 remaining in the game, Thornton was fouled by Luckey, Ohio native Derek Vorst while driving to the basket.
Thornton went to the line to shoot, but before he took his first a whistle was blown and Indiana State’s Teel was assessed a technical foul, assumedly for something he said to either Sean Stewart (who was standing next to him) or to the officials.
Because of the technical foul, Thornton was able to shoot four free throws, and Ohio State retained possession. Thornton knocked down all four to put Ohio State up 90-76.
Back-to-back 30-point games for Big Game Bruce
After Thornton had the four-free throw possession, he also scored on each of Ohio State’s next two possessions, making it an 8-0 Thornton run to put the Buckeyes up 94-75. It was also the second consecutive 30-point game for the junior guard, who had 30 last weekend against Kentucky. Prior to last weekend, Thornton had never scored 30 points in a game during his time at Ohio State.
What’s next?
Ohio State (9-4, 1-1) will welcome the No. 18 Michigan State Spartans (10-2, 2-0) to the Schott for a Friday night Big Ten battle on Jan. 3. The Buckeyes have won each of their last two games against the Spartans, including a buzzer-beating winner last season in East Lansing.
Tom Izzo’s 30th Michigan State team is No. 15 in the nation according to KenPom, No. 23 in the NET rankings, and No. 18 in last week’s AP Poll. They’ve started the season 2-0 in Big Ten play with wins over Minnesota and Nebraska.
Ohio State’s Friday night game against MSU will tip off at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
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