Ohio State
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Illinois
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Buckeyes Fall Late to No. 13 Illinois 88-80
12/9/2025 11:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bruce Thornton scored 34 points in the setback
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State senior guard Bruce Thornton led all scorers with 34 points, but No. 13 Illinois made the key plays down the stretch to pull out a hard-fought 88–80 victory on Tuesday night.
Thornton was 13-of-17 shooting and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. He also added six rebounds and six assists in 40 minutes of action. The performance marked his second 30-point game of the season and one of the most efficient of his career.
Senior center Christoph Tilly (Berlin, Germany) scored 13 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Devin Royal (Pickerington, Ohio) added 15 points, including 11 in the second half, as the Buckeyes stayed within one possession for much of the final 10 minutes.
The Buckeyes (7-2, 1-1) trailed by just one early in the second half after a John Mobley Jr. (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) jumper made it 50–49. Ohio State briefly took the momentum but couldn’t hold on, as Illinois won the game from the line. The Illini were 29-of-32 from the stripe.
The Buckeyes shot 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) as the teams combined for 48 fouls, with 20 coming in a physical second half that slowed the tempo and kept both benches active.
Illinois was led by Keaton Wagler’s 23 points and David Mirkovic’s 22. Tomislav Ivisic had just seven points but made a timely three-pointer with under a minute to play that pushed the lead back to six and quieted a raucous Schottenstein Center crowd.
Up Next
Ohio State travels to Cleveland on Saturday, Dec. 13, for a neutral-site, non-conference showdown with West Virginia. Tip-off from Rocket Arena is scheduled for 8:00 PM on ESPNU.
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