Despite Winter Storm Fern dumping over a foot of snow on Columbus and the temperatures dipping down into the single-digits on Monday night, several thousand fans came out to watch the Ohio State men’s
basketball team (14-6, 6-4) take on a struggling Penn State (9-11, 0-9) team at the halfway mark of the Big Ten schedule.
The Buckeyes were a bit shorthanded on Monday night, with starting center Christoph Tilly and reserve guards Gabe Cupps and Mathieu Grujicic all being ruled out before the game. In Tilly’s place, sophomore center Ivan Njegovan made his first collegiate start.
Ohio State got two buckets apiece from John Mobley Jr. and Devin Royal early in the first half, going up 11-7 five minutes into the game. The Buckeyes were scoring on most possessions where they weren’t turning the ball over, but unfortunately, Ohio State did turn the ball over on four of its first 11 possessions. They scored on five of the seven possessions (out of the first 11) where they did not turn it over.
With 11:53 left in the first half, Mobley missed a three-pointer, but Njegovan grabbed the miss and tried to put it back up. His putback attempt was short, but Puff Johnson — who played for Penn State the last two seasons — grabbed the miss and tossed it up and in, while being fouled by Freddie Dilione. Johnson’s basket made it 16-9 Ohio State, but he missed the free throw.
Mobley’s second three-pointer of the game gave Ohio State a double-digit lead for the first time, 22-11, with 10:43 remaining in the first half. Sophomore guard Taison Chatman also had a strong first half and helped the Buckeyes extend their lead, checking in with 11:53 remaining in the first half and scoring seven points over the next 4:07. His dunk with 7:46 remaining in the first half came off a nice dish from Mobley, and made it 27-15 Buckeyes.
Ohio State outscored Penn State 14-6 over the final 2:27, taking a 50-32 lead into the locker room. Mobley and Bynum each had 13 points in the first half, and also had a team-high four rebounds in the first half. The Buckeyes were en fuego shooting the ball in the first half, shooting 66.7% as a team and going 6-for-11 from three.
Penn State quickly cut Ohio State’s 18-point lead to 10 when the second half started, getting baskets or free throws from five different players over the first 4:09 of the second half. At the same time, Njegovan was the only one to score for the Buckeyes, getting two quick buckets to start the second frame.
The Nittany Lions cut Ohio State’s lead all the way down to four points with 11:58 remaining, but Thornton responded with a layup to push it back to 60-54 on the next possession. He was also fouled on the play by Penn State’s Ivan Juric, but missed the free throw, keeping the game a two-possession lead.
Penn State did cut the lead all the way down to one point near the midway point of the second half, but the Buckeyes put their foot down over the final nine or so minutes, keeping Penn State behind by multiple possessions the entire time. Free throws by Mobley and Chatman in the final 20 seconds padded the final score of what turned out to be a very close game, with Ohio State prevailing, 84-78.
Since it was a balmy six degrees out tonight when the game tipped off, here are six big plays from the Buckeyes that felt pretty consequential as this game developed:
Puff Johnson earns his first Ohio State points the hard way
With Ohio State leading 14-9 and 11:59 remaining in the first half, Mobley missed a three-pointer, but Njegovan grabbed the miss and tried to put it back up, but his shot was short. Puff Johnson, facing his old team, grabbed the offensive rebound and went back up with it, scoring through contact from Freddie Dilione to make it 16-9. Those was Johnson’s first points as a Buckeye.
Mobley squares up defender, knocks it down to double up the score
Up 19-11 with 10:43 left in the first half, Mobley had the ball at the top of the three-point line, with a striaght look at the basket. Mobley shot faked twice and the Penn State defender put a hand up but did not move, so Mobley let it rip and drained it, putting Ohio State up 22-11.
Bynum with the swipe & score to put Ohio State up 16
The freshman forward came up with his ninth steal of the season with 1:29 remaining in the first half, reaching in and swiping it cleanly from Penn State’s Dominick Stewart. He then tore up the floor and went all the way himself, scoring while being fouled by Stewart at the other end. Bynum hit the free throw to make it 44-28 Ohio State.
Thornton spins, drops it in at the buzzer to end the half
Thornton had the ball near the free throw line with four seconds remaining in the half and was guarded well by Penn State’s Josh Reed. With nowhere to go, Thornton planted a pivot foot and spun to his left, shooting the ball as he fell to the left. It dropped in to make it 50-32, as Thornton hit the floor. Ohio State’s senior captain landed on a Penn State’s foot, and hit the ground hard, but was able to walk off the floor on his own and was ready to play when the second half started.
Chatman does it on both ends, pushing the lead back to nine
Ohio Sate nearly blew an 18-point lead, letting the Nittany Lions within just one point with 10:46 left in the game. But Ohio State went on a run, holding Penn State to just two made baskets over the next four-plus minutes while scoring 14 points themselves during that time. With the Buckeyes up 76-69 and 3:57 left in the game, Chatman found the ball in his hands and the shot clock down to four. He was able to get off a contested, off-balance jumper from a few steps inside the three-point line, and sunk it to out Ohio State up nine points. On the very next possession, he came up with a steal. Chatman played big minutes Monday night and was part of the lineup that Diebler had on the floor to end the game.
Mobley hits two free throws to seal it
Ohio State was able to break Penn State’s full court press with 17 seconds left, and they fouled Mobley to put him at the line. Mobley knocked down both free throws to put the Buckeyes up 82-76, and a PSU miss on the other end sealed it.
