18th ranked Maryland came into Columbus riding a 4 game winning streak and having already beaten the Buckeyes handily back in December. For most of the game, it looked to be more of the same as Maryland built a 17 first half lead and led by 11 with just over 7 minutes to play, but Ohio State finished the game on a 23-9 run to steal victory from the jaws of defeat as Bruce Thornton banked in a three with 7 seconds to play to break a tie and complete the incredible comeback, stunning visiting Maryland 73-70. The Buckeyes improve to 14-9 and 6-6 in the conference and further solidify their tournament resume. It was a tale of two halves in this game. After Maryland shot 59% in the first half, the Buckeye defense ramped up the intensity forcing the Terps to shoot just 25% after halftime giving Ohio State the opportunity to climb all the way back and win the game. On the flip side, the Buckeyes shot just 36% before halftime and 53% after to completely flip the game, taking their first lead with just 2 minutes to play and ultimately set up Thornton’s heroics. Bruce Thornton led all scorers with 31 points, 21 in the second half, to go along with 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Micah Parrish added 13 for the victors. Maryland, who fell to 17-6, 7-5, was led by Julian Reese with 24, Rodney Rice had 18 and Derik Queen scored 13 in a losing effort. 

The Terps opened the game hitting their first 4 shots to open an 8-0 lead just over 3 minutes into the ballgame forcing Ohio State to burn an early timeout. The Buckeyes, who missed their first 5 shots, finally got on the board when a penetrating Devin Royal found Ivan Njegovan for a lay-in. Maryland drilled a 15 foot jumper to answer and take a 10-2 lead into the under 16 media timeout. The hot Terp shooting continued out of the timeout, knocking down their next two attempts, including a triple to expand the lead to 15-2 before the Buckeyes went on a run. A John Mobley old-fashioned three point play was followed by a transition dunk by Evan Mahaffey and after a Terp bucket, Micah Parrish drilled a three and a pair of free throws in separate possessions to contribute to a 9-2 Buckeye run, cutting the Maryland lead to 16-12 at the under 12 media timeout. Out of the timeout, Maryland scored the next 4 before a Mobley triple from the top, but 4 straight by Maryland gave the Terps a 25-15 lead at the 8 minute timeout. The Terrapin run increased to 8-0 before Mahaffey buried two free throws. After another Terp bucket, a free throw by Devin Royal and two from Ques Glover cut the Maryland lead to 31-20. Maryland added to their lead, scoring a pair of buckets sandwiched around a pair of Bruce Thornton free throws to take a 35-22 lead into the final media timeout of the first half. Four more Maryland points extended the lead before back to back Thornton buckets cut into that big deficit. After another Maryland jumper fell, Thornton hit a pair of free throws on the other end. After a Terrapin miss, Thornton gathered the rebound and went coast to coast for a lay-in and after a Buckeye steal, Mobley went uncontested to the rim for two and Maryland called a timeout with 15.4 seconds left in the half and Maryland’s lead cut to 41-32. Maryland’s final shot attempt at the end of the half was blocked by Mahaffey and the Buckeyes took a 6-0 run into the locker room to cut the deficit to 9. The Terps were red hot for much of the first half, shooting 59% compared to Ohio State’s 36%, building a lead as large as 17 before the late Buckeye charge. With shot selection being a key contributing factor in building the deficit, Ohio State turned defense into offense to get back into the game before the halftime horn. Bruce Thornton scored all of his 10 points in the final 5 minutes of the half to lead Ohio State while Maryland was led by Julian Reese who scored 14 on 5-5 shooting, while Rodney Rice hit on 5 of 7 shots to score 11. While Ohio State only made 9 field goals in the first half, they did damage at the stripe, hitting 12 of 14, while Maryland, 4th in the conference at the line, made 8 of 12. 

The first four minutes of the second half were played to a 4-4 deadlock with Buckeye buckets coming from Royal and Thornton and at the under 16, Maryland led 45-36. Ohio State crept closer when a penetrating Mobley fed Mahaffey for a dunk and after a defensive stop, Parrish got to the rim for two. A pair of Maryland free throws stopped the mini-run, but a steal and transition score by Sean Stewart forced Maryland to call a timeout with 12:26 left in the game and the Terrapin lead cut to 47-42. A Maryland triple stopped the Buckeye momentum, but a Thornton 15 footer answered and at the under 12, Maryland led 50-44. A 9-4 Terrapin run extended the lead back to 11 before a Royal bucket cut the lead to 59-50 at the under 8. After a pair of Maryland freebies extended the lead to 11, 6 straight Thornton points got the Buckeyes back to within 5. A Royal dunk trimmed the lead to 3 with just over 5 minutes to play. A Maryland bucket stopped the 8-0 Ohio State run, but a Parrish leaner answered and at the under 4, Maryland led 63-60. Out of the timeout, Maryland extended the lead by 2 with a pair of free throws, but Parrish got to the rim on the other end to answer. Maryland got away with a travel on the other end and after a foul was called, the Terps split 2 free throws. The Buckeyes climbed all the way back when Thornton hit a 10 foot jumper and after a defensive stop, Thornton bagged a right wing three forcing Maryland to call a timeout with 2:02 to play and Ohio State enjoying their first lead 67-66. Maryland got to the stripe with 1:02 to play and made both to put Maryland back in front by a point. On the other end, Thornton turned the corner and got to the rim for two and with contact, he went to the line where he buried the and one to complete the old-fashioned three point play and give Ohio State a 2 point lead with 49 seconds to play. After Maryland tied it with 33 seconds left, Jake Diebler took a timeout with the game tied at 70. Ohio State used most of the shot clock before Thornton banked in a triple from the right point giving the Buckeyes the lead 73-70 and Maryland took a timeout with 7.4 to play. Maryland got the ball to the front court where a long three clanged off target going out of bounds off of Thornton and after a lengthy review, Maryland was awarded the basketball with .7 seconds to play. An inbounds pass to the corner led to a fade away that fell short and Ohio State completed an improbable comeback win. 

For much of this game it appeared Ohio State’s home woes would continue, but a mammoth effort by Bruce Thornton and a complete team effort defensively in the second half led to what was an almost unbelievable come from behind win. Ohio State fought back to cut the game as close as 5 on a pair of occasions in the second half, but each time the Buckeyes got close, Maryland had an answer. After the Terps built the lead back to 11 late in the game, to their credit, Ohio State did not quit, they dug down deep and completely turned the game on the defensive end. On the other end, Ohio State’s offense was much more efficient late, taking advantage of every stop and Bruce Thornton put the team on his back to come all the way back and win in dramatic fashion. Big picture, this is a massive Q1 win that only adds to the tournament resume and as of now, they sit firmly in the tournament. While there are games to play and they still have to finish the job, they are in a great position to put themselves in the field come March. They have now won 4 out of 5 and after a quick road trip to Nebraska, they come back home for three big games in a stretch that is an opportunity to continue the positive momentum. 

Correction from prior article, Ohio State will go on the road for the next one before then coming home for three in a row. The next one will find Ohio State in Lincoln, NE taking on the Cornhuskers on Sunday afternoon at 2PM airing on BTN.

-Jason Harris