A career night for Bruce Thornton led Ohio State past Purdue Fort Wayne, using a red hot shooting start and the historic night from their captain to control the game from the outset, and held off a hard charging Mastodon team to defeat the visitors 94-68 to move to 2-0. The Buckeyes hit their first five shots to build a quick double-digit lead and after some sloppy play gave the Mastodons some life, the Buckeyes took back control with a 21-7 run over a 6 minute span midway through the second half fueled by a shift to a zone defense, confusing the PFW offense to cruise to the win. Thornton dominated on both ends, sparking runs with transition baskets and tough finishes, while John Mobley and Christoph Tilly added offensive support. Despite some turnover issues, Ohio State’s efficiency and tempo ultimately carried them to a comfortable win over the Mastodons. The Buckeyes shot a red hot 67% that included 16 threes in 28 attempts, while holding PFW to just 44% shooting overall and just 22.7% from long range. Dominating the glass, 33-17, the Buckeyes were able to overcome turnover issues and complete the 26 point win. Bruce Thornton’s career high 38 points on 14 of 17 shooting to go along with 5 assists and 5 rebounds led the Buckeyes while John Mobley added 19 and Christoph Tilly added 15 points and 6 boards. Mikale Stevenson led PFW with 21 points, while DeAndre Craig added 18 and Darius Duffy chipped in 10 for the losers. 

1st Half

For the second straight game, Ohio State started red-hot, hitting its first five shots — including three threes — to jump out to a 13-2 lead over Purdue Fort Wayne just two minutes in, forcing an early timeout. Bruce Thornton, John Mobley, and Christoph Tilly fueled the early surge, combining crisp passing with sharp perimeter shooting. The Buckeyes’ offensive rhythm continued after the break as Devin Royal found Tilly for a layup and Tilly assisted Mobley on a backdoor cut. PFW briefly closed the gap with a few threes, but Thornton and Mobley answered with jumpers from all over the floor, including a 25 foot three from high on the left point from Mobley. By the under-8 media timeout, Ohio State remained in control, leading 31-17 behind efficient shooting and strong ball movement. A Tilly putback bucket was followed by two PFW free throws and a Buckeye turnover that turned into a fast-break layup. Ohio State regrouped as Noel drove baseline for a dunk, and after a defensive stop, Mobley hit another three from the left wing. The Buckeyes continued to struggle at times taking care of the basketball and another turnover led to a PFW transition score, and at the under-4 media timeout, the Buckeyes led 38-23. A series of Buckeye turnovers allowed PFW to score four straight, but Thornton halted the run with a coast-to-coast finish. After a steal by Gabe Cupps, Thornton converted another layup through contact and completed the three-point play, pushing the lead to 16. He stayed aggressive on the next possession, powering into the lane for another bucket. A late Mastodon three closed the half, with Ohio State heading to the locker room up 45-30. 

For the first 20 minutes, it was all Buckeyes.  Ohio State shot 62%, including 7 of 16 from beyond the arc, holding PFW to 40% shooting with just 4 of 15 dropping from long range. The Buckeyes owned the glass, out rebounding the Mastodons 18-8 and assisted on 10 of 18 made buckets. The lone negative for the first half was the turnovers. Although the Buckeyes forced 9 turnovers, they turned it over 10 times themselves, many unforced, but overcame it with efficient defense and solid rebounding to go along with hot shooting. The Buckeyes didn’t have many guys find the scoring column in the first half, but led by Bruce Thornton’s 19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, they built a comfortable lead. John Mobley hit on 4 of 8 threes to score 14 points, while Christoph TIlly added 9. Purdue Ft. Wayne was led by Mikale Stevenson who knocked down 5 of 8 attempted shots, including both attempts from three to score 12.

2nd Half

PFW scored twice around a Tilly drive and finish, but the Buckeyes answered as Thornton fed Tilly on a give-and-go for another layup. After a PFW basket, Mobley set up Noel for a dunk, and Thornton added a floater. A PFW three and a Buckeye turnover trimmed the margin before Tilly scored again to steady things, giving Ohio State a 55-41 lead at the under-16 timeout. Turnovers continued to plague the Buckeyes, fueling three PFW free throws and a fast-break layup that cut the lead to 9, prompting Jake Diebler to call timeout with 14:28 remaining. Thornton ended PFW’s surge with a driving layup off the glass, though the Mastodons answered with a short jumper and another basket following a Buckeye turnover to cut the lead to seven. Ohio State responded as Royal buried his first shot of the game, a three from the left wing, and Thornton followed with another triple from up top. PFW scored through contact before the under-12 media timeout, with Ohio State leading 63-52. After the timeout, PFW completed the three-point play to cut the lead to 10, but Ohio State quickly responded with five straight points as Thornton sank two free throws and Royal drilled a step-back three to push the margin to 15. PFW broke the Buckeye zone for a baseline dunk, but Mobley answered with two free throws and Thornton added a short jumper. Following another PFW basket, Mobley came off a screen to hit a right-wing three, giving Ohio State a 75-57 lead at the under-8 media timeout. Thornton buried a corner three to stretch the lead to 21, but PFW answered with four straight points. Thornton responded with two free throws, setting a new career high for the senior, before the Mastodons added three more. Cupps then fired a sharp baseline pass to Bynum, who nailed a left-corner three. After another PFW basket, Ivan Njeogovan was fouled inside just before the final media timeout, with Ohio State leading 83-64. Another three by Thornton added to the lead before a pair of PFW free throws fell as Thornton left the game to a big hand from the home crowd. Bynum tacked on two more with a pair of freebies before two on the other end answered for PFW. Mathieu Grujicic scored his first collegiate points, burying a three from the left wing and after a moving screen gave the ball back to the Buckeyes, Bynum banged down a corner three to complete the scoring in the Ohio State win. 

Game Wrap

On a night when 4 time captain Bruce Thornton put the Buckeyes on his back, the Buckeyes showed signs of the offense that could make this team special, but valuing the basketball is still a major issue as the Buckeyes lacked concentration at times, turning it over 19 times. While the shift to zone spurred a big run midway through the second half, when they were in man, the bigs struggled to step up to stop penetration, allowing dribble drives to get too deep allowing some easy opposition buckets for the second straight game. They were improved on that end from game 1 to game 2, but it’s obvious they still have a lot of room to grow on that end. While there is certainly some cause for concern, there is also a lot of good. The Buckeyes continue to share the basketball at a high level, assisting on 22 of 34 made buckets and they are rebounding the basketball at a high level. The offense is most definitely the calling card of this team, but improvement most definitely needs to be made on the defensive end and in ball security. With Thornton leading the way and Mobley and Tilly contributing in a big way, Devin Royal fought through what appears to be a tight left quad and was limited to just 17 minutes and scored just 6 points, hitting his only 2 three attempts on the night. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be anything long term, Royal’s presence on the floor was certainly missed at times. With all the good and bad in the early part of the season through two games, it is important to understand that the rotations and chemistry is still being developed and at the end of the day, they sit at 2-0 with two relatively easy wins. They will look to improve in those areas and continue to enhance their high flying offense prior to a relatively quick turnaround on Tuesday night.

Ohio State will be back on the floor on Tuesday evening, welcoming Appalachian State to the Schottenstein Center. Tip time is scheduled for 6:30 PM, airing on BTN+.

-Jason Harris

Photo Credit: The Columbus Dispatch