Ohio State dominated its exhibition games in Puerto Rico.
Facing a pair of select teams consisting of professional basketball players from Puerto Rico, Ohio State defeated its opponents by an average of 40 points. The Buckeyes earned a 117-75 win over Los Boris 1 on Sunday and followed that up with a 111-73 win over Los Boris 2 on Monday.
Game 1
Ohio State rolled to a 42-point rout in its first game of the trip, led by a balanced scoring effort as 11 different Buckeyes scored at least six points.
Duquesne transfer wing Jimmie Williams led Ohio State with 20 points while shooting 6-of-7 from 3 in less than 17 minutes of action. Five-star freshman forward Anthony Thompson (14), junior guard John Mobley Jr. (13), Cal transfer guard Justin Pippen (12) and Memphis transfer guard Curtis Givens III (11) also scored in double figures.
Jimmie Buckets #GoBucks | #FightToTheEnd pic.twitter.com/2c20gC1I3m
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) August 3, 2026
Ivan Njegovan led Ohio State with 10 rebounds and added eight points. Amare Bynum scored only six points but led the Buckeyes with seven assists and three steals and delivered one of the game’s top highlights with a fast-break dunk.
On his head @amarebynumm | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/pYft46nmWu
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) August 2, 2026
Ohio State shot 55.4% from the field, including a 21-of-43 clip on 3-pointers (48.8%), with 33 assists on 41 makes.
Score by Quarter
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 25 | 34 | 21 | 37 | 117 |
| Los Boris 1 | 14 | 25 | 20 | 16 | 75 |
Ohio State Box Score
| Player | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * John Mobley Jr. (#0) | 20:37 | 5–7 | 3–5 | 0–0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| * Curtis Givens III (#2) | 17:30 | 3–5 | 2–3 | 3–4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| * Andrija Jelavic (#4) | 16:21 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| * Anthony Thompson (#6) | 18:47 | 6–10 | 2–5 | 0–0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| * Josh Ojianwuna (#17) | 05:40 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Amare Bynum (#1) | 18:33 | 3–11 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Jimmie Williams (#3) | 16:36 | 7–8 | 6–7 | 0–0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| Ivan Njegovan (#7) | 16:38 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Myles Herro (#8) | 04:09 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Alex Smith (#9) | 15:13 | 2–6 | 2–6 | 1–2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Justin Pippen (#10) | 21:13 | 3–9 | 1–4 | 5–7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| LJ Smith (#14) | 16:41 | 3–8 | 3–7 | 0–0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Braylen Nash (#55) | 02:54 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vuk Lazarevic (#88) | 15:42 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Team | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| *Denotes starter | |||||||||||
| TOTALS | 206:34 | 41–74 | 21–43 | 14–19 | 46 | 33 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 117 |
Team Stats
| Statistic | Ohio State | Los Boris 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | 41–74 (55.4%) | 27–64 (42.2%) |
| 2-Point Field Goals | 20–31 (64.5%) | 14–29 (48.3%) |
| 3-Point Field Goals | 21–43 (48.8%) | 13–35 (37.1%) |
| Free Throws | 14–19 (73.7%) | 8–11 (72.7%) |
| Rebounds (Off / Def / Total) | 14 / 32 / 46 | 7 / 23 / 30 |
| Assists | 33 | 22 |
| Turnovers | 7 | 13 |
| Steals | 9 | 4 |
| Blocks | 2 | 0 |
| Points in the Paint | 36 | 24 |
| Points off Turnovers | 18 | 7 |
| Second Chance Points | 19 | 7 |
| Fast Break Points | 19 | 10 |
| Bench Points | 70 | 45 |
Game 2
Another balanced scoring effort led Ohio State to a 38-point win over Los Boris 2. Six Buckeyes scored in double figures: Mobley (17), Bynum (16), Pippen (14), Thompson (13), Williams (10) and freshman guard LJ Smith (10).
Njegovan led the Buckeyes again with 13 rebounds while Bynum and Pippen tied for the team lead with five assists. Ohio State shot 53.1% from the field with 34 assists on 43 makes and went 17-of-39 from three (43.6%).
Center Josh Ojianwuna, who was on a minutes restriction as he works his way back from the torn ACL that sidelined him last season, tallied four points and two rebounds in 10 minutes and 47 seconds of action.
Score by Quarter
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 20 | 27 | 35 | 29 | 111 |
| Los Boris 2 | 15 | 25 | 17 | 16 | 73 |
Ohio State Box Score
| Player | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * Amare Bynum (#1) | 20:50 | 6–9 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| * Jimmie Williams (#3) | 19:08 | 3–7 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| * Ivan Njegovan (#7) | 16:51 | 2–5 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| * Justin Pippen (#10) | 17:23 | 5–9 | 4–5 | 0–0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| * LJ Smith (#14) | 20:54 | 4–10 | 2–8 | 0–0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| John Mobley Jr. (#0) | 19:27 | 7–14 | 3–7 | 0–0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| Curtis Givens III (#2) | 16:16 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Andrija Jelavic (#4) | 16:23 | 3–6 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Anthony Thompson (#6) | 20:49 | 5–8 | 2–5 | 1–2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Myles Herro (#8) | 02:46 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Smith (#9) | 07:56 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Josh Ojianwuna (#17) | 10:47 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Braylen Nash (#55) | 03:17 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vuk Lazarevic (#88) | 07:13 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Team | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| *Denotes starter | |||||||||||
| TOTALS | 200:00 | 43–81 | 17–39 | 8–13 | 48 | 30 | 13 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 111 |
Team Stats
| Statistic | Ohio State | Los Boris 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | 43–81 (53.1%) | 26–66 (39.4%) |
| 2-Point Field Goals | 26–42 (61.9%) | 16–36 (44.4%) |
| 3-Point Field Goals | 17–39 (43.6%) | 10–30 (33.3%) |
| Free Throws | 8–13 (61.5%) | 11–13 (84.6%) |
| Rebounds (Off / Def / Total) | 14 / 34 / 48 | 7 / 27 / 34 |
| Assists | 30 | 18 |
| Turnovers | 12 | 19 |
| Steals | 13 | 8 |
| Blocks | 4 | 1 |
| Points in the Paint | 52 | 26 |
| Points off Turnovers | 27 | 16 |
| Second Chance Points | 18 | 14 |
| Fast Break Points | 37 | 7 |
| Bench Points | 57 | 36 |
In an interview session with reporters following Monday’s game, Jake Diebler said he was pleased with the Buckeyes’ pace, ball movement and depth. He said the Buckeyes must continue to improve on defense, but noted that the two games in Puerto Rico were just two of four preseason exhibitions for the Buckeyes, as they will also play October exhibitions against Cincinnati and Butler.
“We're still learning and understanding, with so many new pieces, who we have, evaluate how we're taking what we worked on all summer into a game and how it's working,” Diebler said. “So those were good, and then we were looking for just an opportunity to see how we responded to some in-game adversity, and we got that today. The first half was some good back-and-forth; they really controlled the pace and challenged us in some ways, and it forced our leaders to step up and talk, and it forced us to respond, which we did in a big way. So I think from that standpoint, it was good. We were able to spread out minutes really well, which was important, and all in all, it's been a great trip.”
