The 2024-25 College basketball season is officially underway and the Buckeyes, opening against a ranked opponent for just the third time in program history and first since 1988, had not won in their previous two tries but tonight they were able to get it done, downing the 19th ranked Texas Longhorns in the Hall of Fame Classic in Las Vegas 80-72. Before a sparse crowd at T-Mobile Arena, the Buckeyes jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never trailed, building a first half lead as large as 15 before a 10-0 Texas got the Longhorns to within 5 before a late Micah Parrish three gave Ohio State an 8 point lead after 20 minutes. Texas was able to close to within 3 on two separate occasions in the second half but Ohio State answered every run and never trailed en route to win #1 of the season. Bruce Thornton scored 14 of his team high 20 points after halftime to lead the Buckeyes to go along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Micah Parrish added 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Devin Royal added 16 points and John Mobley scored 14 in his collegiate debut. Evan Mahaffey came off the bench to not only play great defense, he added 8 rebounds to pace the Buckeyes on the glass. Texas was led by Tre Johnson, who set a NCAA freshman debut record 29 points, while Kadin Shedrick and Arthur Kaluma added 10 apiece. The Buckeyes shot 45% for the game, hitting 14 of 28 from long range and 12 of 14 from the stripe, holding Texas to just 37% shooting. The Buckeyes turned it over at a little bit of a high rate, 15 times to Texas’ 9, but they assisted on 16 of the 27 made buckets, keying the big season opening win.

A Bruce Thornton triple on the opening possession of the ballgame had Ohio State off and rolling and after 5 Micah Parrish points, including a right wing three, the Buckeyes led 8-0. Texas answered with 5 of their own before a Meechie Johnson three dropped from the left point. Texas got back on the board to cut back into the Ohio State lead, but Devin Royal drilled a right corner three and at the first media timeout of the game, the Buckeyes led Texas 14-7. The Longhorns scored 4 quick points out of the timeout to trim the Buckeye lead to 3, but a Thornton triple from the right point stopped the mini Texas run. After Texas hit a pair of free throws, John Mobley scored his first collegiate points in style, drilling a logo 3 from high on top. Evan Mahaffey increased the lead to 8 with 1 of 2 free throws, but a three on the other end trimmed the lead to 5 and at the under 12 timeout, the Buckeyes led 21-16. Texas got a bit closer out of the timeout, hitting a jumper before Parrish split a pair of free throws to extend the Buckeye lead to 4. Back to back Mobley triples, the latter from deep beyond the top of the key, forced Texas to call timeout at the 8:27 mark with Ohio State leading 28-18. The hot outside shooting continued out of the timeout when Johnson buried a three from the right wing and after Sean Stewart knocked down a pair of free throws, the Buckeyes lead grew to 15. Six straight Longhorn points preceded the final media timeout of the first half and with 3:48 to play in the first 20 minutes, Ohio State led Texas 33-24. 4 more Texas points out of the timeout forced Jake Diebler to take a timeout with Texas on a 10-0 run to trim the lead to 33-28. The run was stopped out of the timeout when Parrish buried a three from the left corner, but a loose ball three on the other end answered for Texas. A Royal 15 footer extended the lead and ended the scoring for the half as Ohio State took a 38-31 lead to the locker room. 

Neither team shot it particularly well from the field overall as the Buckeyes hit on just 36%, making just 2 of 16 attempts inside the arc, however they did hit 10 of 17 from beyond the arc. The Buckeye defense held Texas to just 34% shooting, including just 4 of 13 from long range. Both teams turned it over 7 times, while Texas turned the Buckeye turnovers into 9 points while Ohio State was unable to score off the ‘Horns turnovers. Texas held a slight 23-21 advantage on the glass, while the Buckeye bench, which went 5 deep, led by John Mobley, Jr’s 9, outscored the Texas bench 15-3. Mobley and Micah Parrish each scored 9 to pace the Buckeye attack, while Texas was led by Tre Johnson’s 15.  

The Buckeyes opened the 2nd half with two when Royal used a Bradshaw screen to get to the rim for a dunk. After 5 straight Texas points, Johnson got into the lane and dropped a pass to Mahaffey for a lay-in. A Texas triple cut the lead to 3 but Ohio State answered when Parrish penetrated and found Aaron Bradshaw for a dunk. After a defensive stop, Parrish again penetrated the lane and finished off the glass and at the under 16 media timeout, Ohio State led Texas 46-39. The Buckeyes increased their lead to 10 when after a pair of offensive rebounds led to extra opportunities and Mobley made Texas pay with a left corner three. Texas split a pair of free throws on their end, but Mobley drilled a pair for Ohio State to extend the lead to 11. Four Texas free throws cut into the Buckeye advantage and at the under 12 timeout, Ohio State led 51-44. Out of the timeout, a baseline jumper dropped for Texas, but Thornton banged down a left corner three to answer. After a missed Buckeye three, Texas got out in transition and finished through contact and completed the old-fashioned three point play to cut the lead back to 5. Ohio State added on when Parrish hit on three free throws, extending the lead to 8 with 10 minutes to play. Three free throws the other way trimmed the lead back to 5, but a rebound and put back by Royal extended the lead. Back to back Texas buckets trimmed the lead to 3, but a Royal short jumper stopped the mini run and at the under 8 media timeout, Ohio State maintained their lead, 61-56. A quick dunk out of the timeout cut the lead back to three, but quickly the other way, Parrish drilled a three from the top to answer. After a missed free throw on the Texas end, Parrish found Royal for a lay-in to extend the lead to 8. After Texas split a pair of free throws, Thornton hit a short baseline jumper to extend the lead to 9. A defensive stop and a Royal right corner three forced Texas to take a timeout with 5:40 to play and the Buckeyes lead extended to 71-59. Texas wasn’t ready to go away, however, as the Longhorns scored the next 5 to cut the lead to 7 with just over 4 minutes to play. Thornton ended the run when he got in the lane and leaned in and scored off the glass as he was fouled to send the teams to their benches for the final media timeout with 3:59 to play and the Buckeyes leading 73-64. Thornton drilled the free throw out of the timeout extending the lead to 10, a lead that extended to 12 when Thornton dropped in a teardrop mid-paint, forcing Texas to call another timeout with 2:47 left in the game. Texas dropped in a bucket on their end, but breaking full court pressure, Thornton penetrated the lane and hit a runner to keep the margin at 12. After a Texas bucket, two Thornton freebies with just under a minute to play cemented the win. A pair of Texas buckets finished the scoring with Ohio State walking off the floor with the win. 

It was a very successful opener for this new look Buckeye team. John Mobley, Jr. showed why he was voted by his teammates as the best shooter on the team in his collegiate debut and the Buckeyes were aggressive on both ends of the floor. While they struggled around the rim in the first half, they did a much better job of finishing in the 2nd 20 minutes as they fought off every Texas run. There were certainly moments where they played out of control,  the outside shooting made up for it as it was certainly a strength on this night. Micah Parrish made his impact felt with not only his shooting ability, his court vision and ability to find open teammates created offense for his teammates. And, when the game is on the line late, Bruce Thornton does Bruce Thornton things, putting the team on his back to find a way to help his team win. Additionally, the improvement not only around the rim, but the outside shooting of Devin Royal makes this team very dangerous if he can continue. They will need to get more from the front court moving forward but the backcourt was always going to be the strength of this basketball team and it showed in this ballgame. The Buckeyes will head back home to watch the film and get ready to get back at it next week as the full weekly slate gets underway starting Monday night.

The Buckeyes open their home schedule next Monday evening, hosting Youngstown State at the Schott.  Tip time is scheduled for 6pm, airing on BTN.

-Jason Harris