Wednesday, November 29
Columbus, Ohio
7:00 p.m.
Ohio State
6-1,0-0Big Ten
88
vs
61
Central Michigan
2-5,0-0MAC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
29
32
61
Ohio St.
41
47
88
Team Stats
CMU
OSU
FG%
.400
.470
3FG%
.375
.292
FT%
.550
.826
RB
30
44
TO
15
8
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Thornton Scores 25 to Lead Buckeyes Past Central Michigan 88-61
11/29/2023 10:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sophomore guard Bruce Thornton scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the opening half as Ohio State cruised to an 88-61 victory over Central Michigan on Wednesday evening inside the Schottenstein Center.
The win was the Buckeyes' fifth consecutive and they are now 6-1 as the ready for the Big Ten opener on Sunday vs. Minnesota.
Thornton was 9-of-14 from the floor and knocked down three shots from behind the arc, securing his 25th game of his career in double figures.
Sophomore Felix Okpara scored a career-high with 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting. All six of his field goals were dunks. He also pulled-down nine rebounds and blocked a shot in his 14th consecutive game. Freshman Devin Royal added 11 points, the most of his young career, scoring all 11 in the second half.
The Buckeyes started slow, scoring just nine points in the first five minutes, but were then led on a 7-0 run by shooting from Thornton and defense by graduate transfer Dale Bonner, who drew a charge to extend the run. A surge by the Chippewas would cut the lead to two just beyond the midway mark of the half at 22-20.
Ohio State found its rhythm thereafter with Thornton breaking out on a 7-0 run himself that turned into a 15-0 team run, featuring two highlight reel dunks from Okpara, building an eventual 41-29 halftime lead. Thornton would finish the half with 19 points, notching his fourth-consecutive game with double figures.
The Buckeyes would keep their foot on the gas, coming out of the locker room on a 14-2 run in the first six minutes, forcing a timeout from the Chippewas. That would extend into a 23-5 run by the midway mark of the half, giving Ohio State its largest lead of the game at 64-34.
Ohio State out-rebounded the Chippewas 44-30 and dished out 17 assists.
The win was the Buckeyes' fifth consecutive and they are now 6-1 as the ready for the Big Ten opener on Sunday vs. Minnesota.
Thornton was 9-of-14 from the floor and knocked down three shots from behind the arc, securing his 25th game of his career in double figures.
Sophomore Felix Okpara scored a career-high with 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting. All six of his field goals were dunks. He also pulled-down nine rebounds and blocked a shot in his 14th consecutive game. Freshman Devin Royal added 11 points, the most of his young career, scoring all 11 in the second half.
The Buckeyes started slow, scoring just nine points in the first five minutes, but were then led on a 7-0 run by shooting from Thornton and defense by graduate transfer Dale Bonner, who drew a charge to extend the run. A surge by the Chippewas would cut the lead to two just beyond the midway mark of the half at 22-20.
Ohio State found its rhythm thereafter with Thornton breaking out on a 7-0 run himself that turned into a 15-0 team run, featuring two highlight reel dunks from Okpara, building an eventual 41-29 halftime lead. Thornton would finish the half with 19 points, notching his fourth-consecutive game with double figures.
The Buckeyes would keep their foot on the gas, coming out of the locker room on a 14-2 run in the first six minutes, forcing a timeout from the Chippewas. That would extend into a 23-5 run by the midway mark of the half, giving Ohio State its largest lead of the game at 64-34.
Ohio State out-rebounded the Chippewas 44-30 and dished out 17 assists.
- Bruce Thornton finished with 25 points, his sixth game this season in double-figures, and is now one-point shy of 500 for his career.
- Roddy Gayle Jr. scored nine of his 11 points in the second half. He added five rebounds and dished-out a career-high seven assists.
- Jamison Battle grabbed eight rebounds, the most in his Buckeye career, on top of 12 points.
- Battle has made a three-pointer in every game this season and has multiple threes in six of the seven games.
- Felix Okpara extended his block streak to 14 consecutive games along with scoring a career-high 14 points.
- Freshman Devin Royal scored a career-high 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
- 46 of the 88 Buckeye points came from the paint.
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