Ohio State Dominates Grambling State, 89-63, in Final Nonconference Tune-Up

The Buckeyes (9-3, 1-1 Big Ten) destroyed Grambling State (5-7, 0-0 SWAC) 89-63 in Value City Arena on Tuesday before it begins full-time Big Ten play at the start of the new year.

Ohio State dominated on the inside against an overmatched Tiger squad, winning points in the pain 42-20. OSU shot 62% from the field overall, counteracting its 14 turnovers.

The trio of Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr. and Devin Royal led the charge for the Buckeyes. Mobley went 5-of-8 from 3-point range to finish with 20 points, Thornton racked up 18 on 6-of-10 shooting and Royal added 16. Amare Bynum (12 points) and Christoph Tilly (10 points) also reached double fiigures. Bynum pulled in a team-high eight rebounds.

Forward Antonio Munoz led the way for Grambling State in defeat, scoring 19 points.

First Half

Ohio State pulled ahead at a gradual pace in the opening nine minutes.

Four turnovers in the first five minutes started a trend of poor ball security for Ohio State against Grambling State's 2-2-1 zone defense, but the Tigers' offense was nonexistent outside a few triples. Trailing 5-4, the Buckeyes launched a 10-0 run – perhaps more of a walk – over a span of nearly six minutes. Grambling State went 6:13 without scoring in total.

The interior game is where Ohio State found nearly all of its early offense, with 12 of its first 14 points coming in the paint. Thornton got his floater game going as Bynum hit the Buckeyes' first 3-pointer of the half, then a Royal dunk made it 19-12 Buckeyes.

Bruce deuce

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Grambling State clawed back to within five points before Ohio State launched its second big run of the first half. Tilly collected a quick four points with a layup and a drawn foul, Thornton cashed in a pair at the line and small forward Colin White got on the scoreboard to cap an 8-0 stretch that pushed the lead to 31-18.

Thornton drew a defender in with two pump-fakes, then finished through the contact for a 3-point play. A John Mobley Jr. triple capped the period with the Buckeyes' biggest advantage of the half at 39-24. Ohio State shot a gaudy 68.2% from the field in the first 20 minutes, but had a careless 10 turnovers and finished 2-of-8 from 3-point range in the first half.

Second Half

Thornton finished over a crowd of three Tiger defenders, then Mobley canned a wide-open 3-pointer from the left wing to extend Ohio State’s advantage to 46-28.

Ohio State continued to utilize the interior game as its main source of scoring. Mobley dimed up power forward Brandon Noel for an open layup, then Noel facilitated after getting a second straight paint touch, finding a cutting Royal for a two-handed slam. Thornton hit a fadeaway one step below the free-throw line, and the lead grew to 20 for the first time, 54-34.

Grambling State kept showing fight, scratching back to within 12, but then Mobley took over. He nailed back-to-back 3-pointers, knocked down another from near the midcourt logo a few minutes later and drew a foul for three free-throw makes to put the contest effectively out of reach at 73-46 with 8:31 to play.

Ohio State got its reserves some late minutes, and Grambling State scored a few grudge points to make the final scoreline 89-63.

What's Next?

Ohio State gets a 10-day layoff before traveling to Rutgers for the start of full-time Big Ten play. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. on Peacock.

Game Notes

• Ohio State is now 12-0 all-time against teams from the SWAC.
• Bruce Thornton is now at 459 career assists, 17 away from passing Curtis Wilson for the fifth-most in school history.
• The Buckeyes scored 29 points off 15 Tiger turnovers.