Saturday, November 25
Niceville, Fla.
7:00
Ohio State
5-1,0-0Big Ten
86
vs
56
Santa Clara (Emerald Coast Classic)
6-1,0-0WCC
1
2
F
Ohio St.
34
52
86
Santa Clara
26
30
56
Buckeyes Beat Santa Clara 86-56 to Win Emerald Coast Classic
11/25/2023 10:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NICEVILLE, Fla. – Ohio State ran away from Santa Clara in the second half and claimed the Emerald Coast Classic title with an 86-56 victory over the Broncos in Niceville, Fla.
Point guard Bruce Thornton averaged 20.0 points and 5.5 assists over the two games and was named the tournaments most valuable player. Roddy Gayle Jr. was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Ohio State is the first Big Ten team to win the Emerald Coast Classic and the Buckeyes win their first bracket event since the 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-off.
Jamison Battle led the Buckeyes with a season-high 21 points on 5-of-10 from long range. Thornton added 13 points, a career-high seven assists and grabbed a season-high five rebounds.
As a team, the Buckeyes dished-out a season-high 22 assists and shot 52 percent from the floor. Including the win over No. 17 Alabama on Friday night, the Buckeyes shot 53 percent over the two games and made 10 three-pointers in each game.
Zed Key and Felix Okpara dominated inside as they were a combined 9-of-12 from the floor with five dunks. Key finished with 10 points and five rebounds while Okpara had eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
The Buckeyes dominated Santa Clara in the second half, outscoring the Broncos 52-30, shooting 63.6 percent.
Unlike Friday night, the Buckeyes got off to a quick start and led by 13 points at 24-11 after Battle's fourth three-pointer of the opening half. Santa Clara clawed back within six on a couple of occasions late in the half, but the Buckeyes led 34-26 at the break. Battle had 16 of his 21 points in the opening half.
The Buckeyes then raced out of the locker room on an 8-2 run on the strength of threes from Battle and Gayle Jr. to take a 42-28 lead and force a Santa Clara timeout. The run continued as Okpara and Key took over inside, scoring eight points to shove the lead out to 52-33 with under 12 minutes to play.
The lead grew to as many as 33 points after sophomore Bowen Hardman came off the bench and stroked his first three-pointer of the season.
Point guard Bruce Thornton averaged 20.0 points and 5.5 assists over the two games and was named the tournaments most valuable player. Roddy Gayle Jr. was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Ohio State is the first Big Ten team to win the Emerald Coast Classic and the Buckeyes win their first bracket event since the 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-off.
Jamison Battle led the Buckeyes with a season-high 21 points on 5-of-10 from long range. Thornton added 13 points, a career-high seven assists and grabbed a season-high five rebounds.
As a team, the Buckeyes dished-out a season-high 22 assists and shot 52 percent from the floor. Including the win over No. 17 Alabama on Friday night, the Buckeyes shot 53 percent over the two games and made 10 three-pointers in each game.
Zed Key and Felix Okpara dominated inside as they were a combined 9-of-12 from the floor with five dunks. Key finished with 10 points and five rebounds while Okpara had eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
The Buckeyes dominated Santa Clara in the second half, outscoring the Broncos 52-30, shooting 63.6 percent.
Unlike Friday night, the Buckeyes got off to a quick start and led by 13 points at 24-11 after Battle's fourth three-pointer of the opening half. Santa Clara clawed back within six on a couple of occasions late in the half, but the Buckeyes led 34-26 at the break. Battle had 16 of his 21 points in the opening half.
The Buckeyes then raced out of the locker room on an 8-2 run on the strength of threes from Battle and Gayle Jr. to take a 42-28 lead and force a Santa Clara timeout. The run continued as Okpara and Key took over inside, scoring eight points to shove the lead out to 52-33 with under 12 minutes to play.
The lead grew to as many as 33 points after sophomore Bowen Hardman came off the bench and stroked his first three-pointer of the season.
- The 21 points by Jamison Battle are his most points as a Buckeye this season. He made a season-high five three-pointers on 10 attempts.
- Bruce Thornton dished-out a career-high seven assists. He also scored 13 points and has now scored in double-figures in five of the six games this season.
- Thornton was named the tournament's MVP, scoring 42 points, dishing out 11 assists and totalling four steals in the two games.
- Dale Bonner scored 11 points on Saturday and made a combined five three-pointers in the two games.
- Ohio State is the first Big Ten team to win the Emerald Coast Classic.
- The last time Ohio State won a true multi-team bracket event was the 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-off when the Buckeyes beat Rhode Island and Washington on Nov. 17 and 18 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
- Felix Okpara had three blocks and has now blocked at least one shot in 13 consecutive games dating back to last season. He's now one of five Buckeyes since 2000 to have a block streak of at least 13 games.
- The Buckeyes have started each of the last five games with a three-pointer as the opening points.
Team Stats
OSU
SCU
FG%
.524
.382
3FG%
.464
.300
FT%
.778
.500
RB
35
37
TO
7
15
STL
8
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball No videos available.
