By Danielle Daniels
The 20-point win was the largest over a Top 5 team since a 22-point win over No. 2 Duke in 2011
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Behind a career-high 30 points from junior point guard Bruce Thornton, Ohio State played its most complete game of the season thus far, dominating No. 4 Kentucky 85-65 inside Madison Square Garden in the second game of the CBS Sports Classic.
The Buckeyes are now 8-4 on the season and beat Kentucky for the third time in three CBS Sports Classic meetings.
Kentucky came into the game with the nation’s leading offense, scoring nearly 91 points per game. The 65 points on Saturday were the Wildcats’ lowest of the season as they lost for just the second time this year.
Thornton’s career night was a little extra special given the state and the setting, inside the World’s Most Famous Arena. He was 13-of-14 from the free throw line to go along with three assists and four rebounds. That was the most points for a Buckeye against a Top 5 team since Duane Washington had 32 points against Illinois in the 2021 Big Ten Tournament Championship game.
Freshman guard John Mobley Jr., starting just his second game, finished with 15 points, three assists and a team-high +28 plus/minus. In his two starts, he has scored 24 points and dished out eight assists with zero turnovers.
Aaron Bradshaw returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 19 and he had quite the game against his former team. He made his first five shots and finished with 11 points, two rebounds and two steals.
Ques Glover also returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him for the last month, and he too gave the team a boost. He had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting to go along with three rebounds and an assist.
As a team, the Buckeyes shot 57 percent from the floor while holding Kentucky to a season-worst 29.8 percent. They also out-rebounded Kentucky 35-32.
The Buckeyes shot 63 percent in the opening half and led 39-30 at the break. The half featured eight lead changes with the last one coming at the nine-minute mark before the Buckeyes went on an 8-0 run. Bradshaw started the run with a jumper and Evan Mahaffey punctuated it with a dunk off a nice drive and dish by Mobley Jr.
In the second half, Kentucky slowly chipped away at the lead and following a 6-0 run, cut the lead to 51-45 with just under 15 minutes to play. With the Wildcat fans at full throat and after an OSU timeout, Thornton hit a three-pointer to settle his team, and the lead wouldn’t get any closer than eight the rest of the way.
A final UK push got the lead down to 70-61 with just over four minutes to play but Glover knocked down his lone three of the night to ignite a 9-0 Buckeye run to put the game away.
Up Next
The Buckeyes will head home for Christmas before closing out the non-conference portion of the schedule on Sunday, Dec. 29 against Indiana State. Tip-off from Value City Arena is scheduled for noon and the game will be televised on BTN.
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