When Ohio State needed Bruce Thornton the most Saturday night, the senior stepped up in a major way.
Things were looking bleak for Ohio State at halftime against West Virginia. To be blunt, it was ugly. The Buckeyes trailed 37-27 going into the break and shot a dismal 31% from the field in the first half. The second half quickly became a season-defining 20 minutes, at least leading into it, given the circumstances.
After OSU wasted an outstanding 34-point, six-rebound, six-assist game by Bruce Thornton in the loss to Illinois earlier in the week, he struggled mightily on offense in the first half in Cleveland, which was a big reason Ohio State did as well.
Thornton had only two points and zero assists in the first half while making just one of six shots. But, there's a reason basketball games have two halves (and two overtimes, in this case).
In the second half and overtime, Thornton scored 19 points while making seven of 13 shots from the field. Even though he couldn't find any success from beyond the arc, making only one of eight 3-pointers, the 6-foot-2 guard found ways to get to his spots inside the arc.
And when the Buckeyes needed their four-time captain the most, Thornton made the game-winning 2-pointer to give Ohio State an 89-88 lead with 3.3 seconds left in the game.
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
"We wanted to keep the ball in Bruce's hands," Jake Diebler said after the game. "It felt like we could put some action on the weak side to occupy some guys and create a little bit of space for him in the key."
Diebler and the coaching staff were able to draw a play up to give Ohio State's best player the shot they wanted, allowing Thornton to get to the paint and use his strength and ability to score to his advantage.
"I just took my time," Thornton said. "Trust the work I put in each and every day. I didn't make shots, but I stuck to it throughout the whole thing. It's who we are. Fight to the end. We always stress to be our best late, and that came to fruition today.
It was the type of play that West Virginia regretted and, in hindsight, wishes they could go back and change.
“I’ll take the blame on that,” head coach Ross Hodge said of Thornton's game-winner. “We should have gotten the ball out of Thornton’s hands. He’s just too great a player and we had a hard time. Some of the thinking is, if you run at him, you’re leaving someone wide open and you’re opening up another can of worms.
“At that point, he had woken up and willed them to victory. We should have done something else. For that, I’m disappointed in myself.”
Of a possible 50 minutes, Thornton played 49. He was dead tired – at times taking advantage of every single second he could get as a break to catch his breath.
His conditioning speaks for itself, but Thornton’s recovery from a tough start offensively was huge for Ohio State. It's even more impressive when you factor in that Thornton defended West Virginia's top scorer, Honor Huff, when the two were both in the game – which was quite often, given that Huff played 40 minutes.
"He had to really carry a heavy burden for us offensively (after Devin Royal fouled out with 3:44 left in the second overtime). And then he turned around, and every time (Huff and Thornton) were on the floor, we had those two matched up, and it is an absolute workout because that guy doesn't stop moving," Diebler said. "If you relax for a second, he gets a shot off."
Huff entered Saturday's game averaging 4.0 made 3-pointers per game (second-most in the country) and 9.5 3-point attempts per game (third). The senior scored 24 points but made just seven of 17 shots from the field, including five of 13 3-pointers. Over West Virginia's last four games, Huff has shot 56 3-pointers, making 23 of them. There isn't a spot on the floor that he doesn't like, which makes Huiff even tougher to defend.
Yet, Thornton defended Huff all night while leading Ohio State's offense, both as a distributor and as a scorer.
Thornton struggled in late-game situations last season. But in essentially a must-win game against West Virginia, Diebler once again leaned on Thornton. This time, the senior point guard delivered.
"Just an incredible way to help will us to a victory."
