Ohio State battled back from an 11 point deficit to take a 3 point lead with less than a minute to play, but North Carolina scored the final 4, taking advantage of a late Buckeye turnover and survived a buzzer beating shot by Ohio State to survive the upset minded Buckeyes 71-70 in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta dropping the Buckeyes to 8-3 while North Carolina improved to 11-1. The Buckeyes shot 40% on the afternoon, struggling to just 4 of 20 from long range against one of the premier defenses in college basketball, while North Carolina hit on 44% of their shots, making 8 of 27 from long range. Ohio State’s efficiency at the stripe, 16 of 19 gave them a chance, while North Carolina struggled making just 7 of 13.
Ohio State, who got 0 points from their bench, put all five starters in double figures led by Devin Royal’s 18 points and 8 rebounds. Bruce Thornton added 16 points, while Christoph Tilly chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds. John Mobley, Jr. and Amare Bynum scored 13 and 11 respectively with the latter added 6 rebounds.
North Carolina’s talented freshman Caleb Wilson, who had Ohio State in his final 3, led North Carolina with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Henri Veessar added 17 and 10. Seth Trimble returned from injury having been out since the second game of the season to score 17 in the winning effort.
1st Half
North Carolina opened the scoring with a dunk on its first possession, while Ohio State missed its first four shots before an offensive rebound and putback by Amare Bynum—making his first career start—put the Buckeyes on the board. John Mobley Jr. then knocked down a right-corner three in transition to give Ohio State the lead. The Tar Heels went nearly three minutes without scoring before an offensive rebound and dunk just prior to the first media timeout trimmed the Buckeye advantage to 5–4 with 15:39 remaining in the first half.
Carolina regained the lead with a corner three, but on the ensuing possession Christoph Tilly found a cutting Bynum for a dunk to even the score. The Tar Heels answered with a straight-on three, while Bruce Thornton responded with a short jumper in the paint. At the under-12 media timeout, North Carolina held a 10–9 edge.
Tilly briefly put Ohio State back in front with a step-through finish with the left hand, but North Carolina responded with free throws and a transition dunk. Ohio State answered with two Mobley free throws and a Devin Royal three off a turnover to regain the lead, before the Tar Heels closed the run to go back in front 17–16 at the under-8 media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Devin Royal split a pair of free throws to tie the game, but after a Carolina turnover, Ohio State gave it right back and North Carolina converted an and-one in transition to go up three. Amare Bynum answered with a paint score, though the Tar Heels followed with a 7–0 run to push the lead to eight. Royal later split another trip to the line to halt the surge, and at the under-4 media timeout, North Carolina led 27–20.
North Carolina pushed its lead to its largest margin with a short jumper, but Bruce Thornton answered to spark a Buckeye response. Devin Royal followed by knocking down two free throws, then drilled a three after a Carolina miss to pull Ohio State within two. The Tar Heels briefly stopped the 7–0 run with a basket, but Thornton responded with a runner, and moments later John Mobley Jr. found Royal for a transition dunk to tie the game inside the final minute.
North Carolina broke the tie with a three, and after an Ohio State timeout with 20 seconds remaining, the Buckeyes got a clean look from the corner, but Thornton’s attempt came up empty. A final lob attempt was disrupted with a clear push that was not called as time expired, and the Tar Heels carried a 34–31 lead into halftime.
Ohio State struggled offensively in the first half, shooting just 33 percent from the field and 3-of-14 from three, while North Carolina connected on 43 percent of its attempts but was also inefficient from deep at 4-of-15. Despite the shooting disparity, the Buckeyes held a 16–14 edge in points in the paint and the teams were even on the glass at 22 rebounds apiece.
The half featured multiple runs, with North Carolina using a 9–1 surge to build an nine-point lead before Ohio State responded with an 11–2 run to pull even before a late Tar Heel three ultimately provided the difference. Devin Royal paced Ohio State with 12 first-half points, while Henri Veesaar led North Carolina with nine.
2nd Half
Ohio State opened the second half with a short jumper from Amare Bynum, but North Carolina quickly responded with a three. The teams traded baskets through the opening minutes, with scores from Christoph Tilly, Devin Royal, and John Mobley Jr., though Carolina repeatedly had an answer. A Tar Heel offensive rebound and a three sandwiched a Royal bucket, pushed the lead to six, forcing an Ohio State timeout with 16:07 remaining as North Carolina led 47–41.
The North Carolina run went to 7-0, upping the margin to 10, before a Tilly score stopped a 3 ½ minute scoring drought. A Mobley 17-footer cut the lead to 6 before a Tar Heel wide open 3 found the bottom of the net stopping the Buckeye momentum and added an offensive rebound and score forcing another Ohio State timeout at the 11:13 mark as North Carolina built a 56-45 lead.
A pair of Thornton buckets were offset by a bucket and a free throw by North Carolina as the Tarheels led by 10 with 9 minutes to play. Another Thornton deuce trimmed the deficit to 8 and at the under 8, North Carolina led 59-51.
Devin Royal’s bucket pulled Ohio State within six, but North Carolina quickly responded with a three. Thornton added two free throws, and after a flagrant-one foul on Carolina, Christoph Tilly made both free throws to bring the Buckeyes within five. A Tar Heel lob and dunk extended the lead, but Bynum converted a layup off a Tilly pass through contact and made the free throw to cut it to four. A short Tilly jumper narrowed the gap to two, but a Carolina step-through score pushed the lead back to 4, and at the under-4 media timeout with 2:57 remaining, North Carolina led 66–62.
Out of the timeout, Tilly went to the stripe and dropped in two, cutting the deficit back to just two. On the other end, Amare Bynum picked up his fifth and disqualifying foul, sending him to the bench with 11 points and North Carolina went to the line splitting the pair. A Thornton jumper trimmed the deficit to one and after empty possessions each way, North Carolina took a timeout with 1:39 to play and the Tarheels clinging to a 67-66 lead. The Buckeyes stopped the Heels once again and on the other end, Mobley buried a three long three from the left point with 48 seconds left as he was fouled and he buried the free throw to complete the four-point play and put Ohio State up 3 with 48 seconds to play. A Carolina runner with 33 seconds to play preceded another North Carolina timeout and out of the timeout, Ohio State was pressured in the backcourt, and an errant Colin White pass gave the ball back to the Tarheels with 18 seconds remaining and North Carolina took another timeout. The Tarheels took advantage of a loose ball creating an opportunistic dunk to score with 7 seconds to play to move in front by one as Ohio State used their final timeout with 4.4 seconds left after advancing to the forecourt. The inbounds pass got in the hands of Mobley who’s three attempt fell off target and Royal grabbed a rebound where his put back attempt was blocked as the horn sounded as the Tarheels escaped with the win.
Game Wrap
Consistency has become a theme and a challenge for this basketball team. The Buckeyes can compete with anyone in the country for stretches of 25–30 minutes, but lapses on both ends of the floor have repeatedly cost them in close games against high-major opponents. Their three losses—two by a single point and another after a late-game push fell short against Illinois—have kept them from accumulating critical wins.
Coming into this game as the underdog, Ohio State stayed competitive and had a chance to win late, but when holding the ball with a lead, finishing is crucial—and they were unable to do so. With one more “paycheck” game before the New Year, the Buckeyes will then dive into full Big Ten play. They must learn from these narrow defeats and be prepared for the grind of January. Failure to do so could leave them on the outside looking in come March—a disappointing outcome for a team with high expectations for a successful season.
BOX SCORE
*Official statistics provided courtesy of stat broadcast
Ohio State wraps up the 2025 portion of its schedule on Tuesday afternoon, hosting Grambling at the Schottenstein Center for a 2 p.m. tip on BTN.
-Jason Harris