Replay: Bruce Thornton leads high-powered Ohio State past Green Bay in blowout

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Replay: Bruce Thornton leads high-powered Ohio State past Green Bay in blowout

Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch · The Columbus Dispatch

Tue, Nov 26, 2024 ·

8 min read

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Junior guard Bruce Thornton scored a season-high 25 points to lead a balanced, high-powered Ohio State past Green Bay, 102-69, on Monday night.

Thornton also added nine assists, coming just shy of his third career double-double, as seven Buckeyes finished in double figures. Green Bay's Anthony Roy led all scorers with 30 points.

Devin Royal had his second career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Meechie Johnson had 17 points, John Mobley Jr. had 14, Sean Stewart had 11 points and eight rebounds and Micah Parrish and Evan Mahaffey each had 10 points.

Kalen Etzler's layup with 1:01 to play pushed Ohio State past 100 points for the second consecutive game. The Buckeyes haven't done that since they beat American 109-73 and Tennessee State 103-66 on Dec. 15 and 17, 1990.

Last time out, Ohio State beat Campbell 104-60.

Up next, Ohio State will host Pittsburgh on Friday before playing its first two Big Ten games next week.

Follow along with all the action as Ohio State hosts Green Bay with The Dispatch's live game blog.

Ohio State flirting with 100 points again in final minutes

Bruce Thornton received an ovation when he was removed from the game with 4:05 to play. He finishes the game with a season-high 25 points and had nine assists, just shy of his third career double-double.

The Buckeyes lead Green Bay 93-60 with 3:17 to play.

Ohio State pulling away as Bruce Thornton carries the load

Ohio State's junior guard has scored 14 points since halftime and is perfect on four field-goal attempts, two from 3-point range, giving him a team-high 23 points to go with seven assists as the Buckeyes lead 77-59 with 7:54 to play.

Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) is introduced in the starting lineup prior to the NCAA men's basketball game against the Green Bay Phoenix at Value City Arena in Columbus on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024.

Phoenix hanging around near midpoint of second half

John Mobley Jr. hit his first 3-pointer of the game, but Green Bay's Ben Tweedy is going to the line for a chance to finish off a traditional three-point play with 11:56 and Ohio State's lead at 61-53.

Bruce Thornton reached 1,000 career points on a stepback 3-pointer with 14:15 left in the game and was recognized during the media timeout. He is the 61st player in Ohio State history to reach that mark.

Green Bay cuts into Ohio State's lead

Just shy of two minutes into the second half, Bruce Thornton connected on a lob with Devin Royal that led to Green Bay calling timeout with Ohio State ahead 49-41 and 18:02 to play.

It settled the Phoenix, who have since put together a 10-2 run and pulled within 51-44 as Ohio State called timeout with 15:55 to play. Six of those 10 points are from Anthony Roy 3-pointers, the latest of which was deep, uncontested and found nothing but net.

He has a game-high 20 points and is 6 of 9 from deep.

Ohio State leads Green Bay at halftime

Meechie Johnson Jr. already has a season-high 15 points thanks to a 5-for-8 effort from 3-point range, Bruce Thornton has 9 points and four assists and Ohio State leads Green Bay 42-32 at the half.

Phoenix guard Anthony Roy, the nation's leading scorer at 28.0 points per game, has 14 and is 4 for 7 from 3-point range. The Buckeyes are 9 for 18 from deep and have not trailed.

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Bruce Thornton's turnover-less streak ends

Ohio State's junior point guard turned the ball over with 15:37 left in Ohio State's second game of the season, a win against Youngstown State. Tuesday night, with 46 seconds left in the first half against Green Bay, he turned it over again.

In between, Thornton had 21 straight assists with no turnovers, a span of 154:51.

Ohio State again firing and connecting from 3-point range

Bruce Thornton's second 3-pointer of the night swished through the net with 4:21 left in the first half. It made Thornton 2 for 3 on the night and Ohio State a collective 7 for 15 (46.7%) from beyond the arc. Meechie Johnson is 4 for 7 and Micah Parrish 1 for 4.

Surprisingly, freshman John Mobley Jr. has missed his only attempt. Devin Royal also has seven rebounds, and Ohio State leads 34-24 with 3:54 left in the half.

Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) dribbles past Campbell Fighting Camels forward Colby Duggan (2) during the first half of the NCAA men's basketball game at Value City Arena in Columbus on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. — Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton drives against Campbell on Nov. 22.

Sean Stewart impacting the glass in return

Ohio State leads Green Bay 28-19 with 7:04 left in the first half and sophomore Sean Stewart has nearly grabbed as many rebounds as the Phoenix. Stewart has six rebounds and Green Bay has seven as a team.

Turnovers piling up early for both teams

Green Bay's Anthony Roy hit a 3-pointer to pull the Phoenix within 12-11, but the visitors have not gotten a shot off since as Ohio State has forced turnovers on five consecutive possessions.

The Buckeyes have only scored five more points during that stretch, though, because they have turned it over three times including on their last two possessions. Ohio State leads 17-11 with 11:45 left in the first half. Each team has five turnovers.

Who are the starters for the Ohio State-Green Bay game?

Here are tonight's starting lineups.

Ohio State: Bruce Thornton, Meechie Johnson Jr., Micah Parrish, Devin Royal, Sean Stewart

Green Bay: Foster Wonders, Preston Ruedinger, Jeremiah Johnson, Anthony Roy, Marcus Hall

Ohio State Buckeyes starters, from left, Meechie Johnson Jr., Sean Stewart, Aaron Bradshaw and Bruce Thornton wait to be announced prior to the NCAA men's basketball game against the Evansville Purple Aces at Value City Arena in Columbus on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024.

Ques Glover not in uniform for Green Bay game

The Buckeyes look to be without sixth-year guard Ques Glover for a third straight game. After injuring his ankle in the Nov. 15 loss at No. 23 Texas A&M, Glover did not play against Evansville or Campbell. He was listed as questionable on the Big Ten availability report, but it looks like he will not play against the Phoenix.

In three games, Glover has averaged 3.7 points and gone 3 for 5 (60.0%) from 3-point range.

Video: Some Ohio State-Green Bay pregame thoughts

Sean Stewart available for Ohio State

The Buckeyes will still be without Aaron Bradshaw, who is not participating in team activities as Ohio State investigates a domestic incident at his off-campus apartment, but sophomore forward Sean Stewart is available after missing Friday's game while in concussion protocol.

Bradshaw is the only player listed as unavailable on Ohio State's official availability report. Sixth-year guard Ques Glover, who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury, is questionable. He was also questionable for Friday's game but watched the game in street clothes.