West Virginia Falls to Ohio State 89-88 in Double-Overtime at a Neutral Court
West Virginia lost a close game to Ohio State. Senior captain Bruce Thornton showed why he is one of the best players in the country as he scored 14 points in the two overtime periods against West Virginia, including the game-winner with three seconds left, as Ohio State erased a sixteen-point second-half deficit to stun West Virginia 89–88 in double overtime Saturday night at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Thornton, from Fairburn, Georgia, finished with 21 points, four assists, and four rebounds. Do you think having an experienced guard like Thornton will help the Buckeyes?
West Virginia Against Ohio State Scoring Summary
Bruce Thornton scored 19 of his 21 points after halftime, which included the go-ahead jumper with 3.6 seconds left, and Ohio State rallied from a fourteen-point second-half deficit to beat West Virginia 89-88 in double overtime on Saturday night at the Cleveland Hoops Showdown.
Ohio State got other scoring contributions in the game against West Virginia. Freshman Amare Bynum, who has been great for Ohio State this year, started the second half and scored fifteen of his season-high seventeen points after halftime for Ohio State With the win over West Virginia, Ohio State improved to 8-2. John Mobley Jr. also scored seventeen points and Christoph Tilly had fourteen points and eleven rebounds.
Honor Huff hit five three-pointers and led West Virginia. They are now 8-4, and Huff had twenty-four points. Brenen Lorient added eighteen points on 7-of-7 shooting, 3 of 3 from 3-point range. Jasper Floyd and Chance Moore each scored fourteen points for the Mountaineers.
Huff hit a long 2-point shot from the right corner that gave the Mountaineers a one-point lead with 11 seconds left, but Thornton worked his way into the lane and hit a contested jumper to cap the scoring. Then, Huff hit a contested three-pointer with about a minute left in overtime that gave the Mountaineers a one-point lead, but Devin Royal made 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at seventy-seven.
Floyd made a pull-up jumper near the right elbow, Huff hit a step-back three-pointer, and Jackson Fields hit another from behind the arc to give West Virginia a 51-37 lead, which was their largest of the game, with 13:52 left in regulation.
Mobley hit a contested three-pointer for Ohio State as the shot clock expired to cap a 10-3 run and give the Buckeyes a two-point lead, their first of the second half, with 52 seconds to play. Huff found Jackson Fields for a layup that made it 68-all 16 seconds later and eventually forced overtime.
News and Notes
- Amare Bynam fouled out in this game.
- Bruce Thornton’s second-half and overtime histrionics were part of an excellent season for the Senior guard.
- West Virginia shot 46% from three-point range and 76% from the floor in this game. That lofty number, however, pales in comparison to Ohio State’s 88% from the field.
- The rebounding battle in this game was pretty close. Ohio State led West Virginia 38-34.
- Ohio State had eighteen rebounds, and the Mountaineers had fourteen.
- There were relatively few turnovers in this game. West Virginia had fifteen, and Ohio State had only ten.
- Amare Bynum had, by far, the most significant bench contribution for the Buckeyes in this game. He had seventeen points, and the rest of the Buckeye bench had only five points.
Conclusion
This game against West Virginia was a thrilling double overtime win for the Buckeyes. It is fair to wonder if this big win will propel the Buckeyes going forward. It’s better, their next game is a challenge. The Buckeyes take on No. 14 North Carolina at the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta on Saturday, December 20.
