Ohio State junior guard Bruce Thornton (2) dribbles the ball up the court during the game against Green Bay Monday. Thornton totaled a team-leading 25 points. The Buckeyes defeated the Phoenix 109-62. Credit: Aiden Ridgway | Lantern Photographer
For the first time in 34 years, the Buckeyes have scored 100 points in two straight games.
Seven Buckeye players scored in double figures as Ohio State (5-1) trounced Green Bay (2-5) 102-69 Monday Night at the Schottenstein Center.
Guard Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes in scoring with 25 while shooting 71% from beyond the arc.
“I think [Thornton] is the best point guard in the country,” head coach Jake Diebler said. “His leadership was really impressive tonight.”
After eight empty possessions to start the game, Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson Jr. finally got the Buckeyes on the board with a 3-pointer.
The Ohio State defense held Green Bay scoreless for roughly five minutes of play.
“They don’t have any weaknesses defensively,” Green Bay head coach Doug Gottlieb said. “That’s a really well-coached team.”
Phoenix guard Ben Tweedy ended the drought, cutting the Buckeyes’ lead to six at 19-13 with a finger roll layup.
Out of the timeout, Johnson hit his fourth three of the game for Ohio State, giving him 12 points just over 13 minutes into play.
Green Bay shot 6-of-7 from the field over a four-minute span in the first half, cutting its deficit to seven. The Phoenix then scored seven straight points, but Johnson responded with his fifth 3-pointer of the game to put Ohio State up 10 with 30 seconds left until the half.
Green Bay had a chance to cut it to single digits in the waning seconds of the half, but Ohio State guard Evan Mahaffey sent a layup off the glass to keep the Buckeye lead at 10.
Just two minutes into the second half, the Buckeyes forced two turnovers and went on a 7-2 run, forcing Green Bay to take a timeout.
Ohio State led by 15 before the Phoenix went on a 10-2 run of their own. During that run, guard Anthony Roy knocked down his fifth and sixth 3-pointers of the game.
With 14:15 remaining, Thornton sank a 3-pointer, marking his 1,000th career point, becoming the 61st Buckeye to reach that milestone.
Ohio State guard John Mobley Jr. got on the board for the first time eight minutes into the second half with a corner three to push its lead from seven to 10.
After a steal and an emphatic slam by Mahaffey, the Buckeyes earned their largest lead of the game at 16.
Despite a slow start, Mobley quickly racked up 14 points, knocking down six straight shots, including three from beyond the arc.
Ohio State used this momentum to launch a 20-1 run over 5:06 of play late in the second half, putting the Buckeyes up 93-60, before finalizing the score at 102-69.
The Buckeyes will face Pittsburgh at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Schottenstein Center, before starting Big Ten play against Maryland Dec. 4.
