What a game that was.
Ohio State trailed by 14 points in the second half but came back to force not one, but two overtimes against West Virginia. Trailing 88-87 with the clock winding down, the Buckeyes turned to their brightest star.
Bruce Thornton drove into West Virginia's Brenen Lorient, stopped, pivoted, pump-faked and rose through contact to knock down a floater with less than four seconds remaining. Ohio State held on from there, 89-88, in a double-overtime comeback victory.
BRUCE THORNTON GAME-WINNER FOR THE BUCKEYES IN 2OT
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 14, 2025
Ohio State trailed by as many as 14 pic.twitter.com/jaDHnGd4Rp
The Buckeyes (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten) picked up a critical win against West Virginia (8-4, 0-0 Big 12) with a matchup against No. 14 North Carolina on the horizon.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | OT1 | OT2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEST VIRGINIA | 37 | 31 | 9 | 11 | 88 |
| OHIO STATE | 27 | 41 | 9 | 12 | 89 |
Ohio State was led by Thornton, who finished with 21 points. Freshman forward Amare Bynum enjoyed a breakout performance, racking up 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He started the second half and fueled the Buckeye comeback with a team-high 11 points in that frame.
John Mobley Jr. (17 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals), Christoph Tilly (14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists) and Devin Royal (11 points, 10 rebounds, one assist) also scored in double figures for the Buckeyes.
First Half
In what was a slow shooting start for both teams, OSU and West Virginia combined to make just five of their first 21 shots.
Mobley started hot for the Buckeyes, with eight points (making two 3-pointers and two free throws) to give Ohio State a 16-14 lead midway through the first half. Christoph Tilly had three assists on OSU's first five made shots but also had two early turnovers.
West Virginia went on a 12-2 run to take a 26-21 lead as the Buckeyes' offense stalled, unable to find a bucket. Ohio State made just two of its final eight shots to end the opening half.
The good news was that OSU's defense forced the Mountaineers to shoot just 36% from the floor in the first half. The bad news was that the Buckeyes only shot 31% from the field in the game's first 20 minutes. Ohio State's starters combined to make only six of 23 shots in the first half, as the five had as many turnovers (six) as made shots.
West Virginia made only one field goal in the final seven minutes of the half, yet took a 37-27 lead into halftime.
Second Half
| WEST VIRGINIA | STAT | OHIO STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 88 | POINTS | 89 |
| 25-63 (39.7%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 32-73 (42.8%) |
| 12-26 (46.2%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 4-21 (19%) |
| 26-34 (76.5%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 21-24 (87.5%) |
| 15 | TURNOVERS | 10 |
| 34 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 38 |
| 11 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 11 |
| 23 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 27 |
| 23 | BENCH POINTS | 22 |
| 1 | BLOCKS | 4 |
| 5 | STEALS | 3 |
| 15 | ASSISTS | 18 |
In what was a season-defining second half for the Buckeyes, West Virginia outscored OSU to start the half, 14-8, before Ohio State went on a quick 6-0 run. It was the first of many runs for the Buckeyes in the second half.
Bynum scored 11 points of Ohio State's 19 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Buckeyes proceeded to go on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 55-52 before they were called for a questionable foul. Questionable enough that head coach Jake Diebler picked up his first technical foul of the season while arguing with an official about it. West Virginia scored five points in the sequence and went back up 60-52.
Ohio State responded with a 7-0 run to take a 68-66 lead with 1:03 left, its first lead of the game. Both teams went scoreless in the final 63 seconds of regulation to force overtime.
After playing some of their worst basketball for 26 minutes, the Buckeyes played some of their best basketball this season in the final 14 minutes of regulation.
First Overtime
Just like the second half, it was a back-and-forth overtime as well, filled with plenty of free throws.
Ohio State took a 76-74 lead before West Virginia's Honor Huff made a deep fadeaway 3-pointer to give the Mountaineers a 77-76 lead.
With the Buckeyes having possession and two seconds separating the shot clock and game clock, Devin Royal was fouled on a shot in the paint. He made one of two free throws to tie the game at 77-77.
Second Overtime
Bruce Thornton opened the additional extra period with a fadeaway mid-range 2-pointer to give Ohio State an 85-83 lead. West Virginia's Brenen Lorient then made a fadeaway rainbow 3-pointer to give the Mountaineers an 86-85 lead.
Thornton was then fouled close to the basket and made both free throws to give OSU a one-point lead again before Huff made a fadeaway deep 2-pointer to give West Virginia the lead right back. Thornton came down and made his own tough 2-pointer in the paint to give the Buckeyes an 89-88 lead.
What a game. What a win for the Buckeyes after a dismal first half.
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) December 14, 2025
When Ohio State needed him the most, Bruce Thornton, among their OSU players, stepped up big time.
The game-winner: pic.twitter.com/BTk716gr27
Ohio State forced a turnover to secure the win.
What's Next?
Ohio State plays the second of back-to-back neutral-site games with power-conference opponents, as the Buckeyes will go against North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta next Saturday, Dec. 20. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. on CBS.
Game Notes
- This is the second time in three years that the Buckeyes and Mountaineers have had a matchup in Cleveland. Ohio State beat West Virginia in overtime, 78-75, on Dec. 30, 2023. Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal were the only current Buckeyes on OSU's roster for that game.
- Diebler received a technical foul for the first time in his career.
