Amare Bynum dunks over two defenders in the Buckeyes’ 89-88 double overtime win against West Virginia Saturday at Rocket Arena. Credit: Matthew Wu | Lantern Photographer
Ohio State’s tenth game of the season against West Virginia could be summed up in one word: chaotic.
From the winter storm that dumped six inches of snow on Cleveland, leaving Rocket Arena nearly half empty, to a neutral-site crowd that felt more Mountaineer than Buckeye, to a back-and-forth battle that featured 15 lead changes- with ten of them coming in two overtime periods, everything about Saturday night carried a sense of disorder.
And while chaos seems to be synonymous with Buckeye basketball, another familiar feeling loomed as Honor Huff buried a jumpshot to give West Virginia a one-point lead with 10 seconds left: heartbreak.
Instead, Bruce Thornton delivered relief.
Thornton drove into the lane and floated in the game-winning basket with three seconds remaining, lifting Ohio State to an 89-88 win over West Virginia and allowing the Buckeyes to exorcise some of their late-game demons after six one-possession losses in the last two seasons.
“What a college basketball game,” head coach Jake Diebler said. “That’s why you schedule these types of nonconference games, because it tests you. This one tested us to the absolute max.”
While Thornton’s 10 points across the overtime periods ultimately secured the win, regulation play was unsteady from the opening tip.
Although West Virginia competes in the Big 12, the game felt unmistakably Big Ten in nature – physical, slow and sloppy at times. The Mountaineers dictated the pace early, forcing Ohio State out of its comfort zone and into a grind-it-out first half defined by long possessions and stagnant offense.
Both teams shot under 30% from the field midway through the opening half. Ohio State committed five turnovers in the first 10 minutes and opened the game just 5-for-21 from the floor.
Thornton, coming off a 34-point performance on 76.5% shooting, was quiet early, scoring just two points on 1-of-6 shooting in the first half. Ohio State’s starting lineup struggled as a whole, combining to shoot 6-for-23 before the break.
“[West Virginia] came and set the tone in the first half,” Diebler said. “We were disappointed we weren’t able to do that.”
Despite the Mountaineers making just nine field goals and their leading scorer, Huff, scoring just three points, the Mountaineers entered halftime with a ten-point lead, and the uneasy feeling inside the arena lingered.
That feeling intensified quickly after the break.
West Virginia opened the second half with an emphatic dunk from Brenen Lorient, energizing its fanbase and reinforcing the sense that the Mountaineers had seized full control.
Over the next six minutes, everything unraveled for Ohio State.
Missed layups, defensive breakdowns and turnovers piled up as the Buckeyes fell behind by 16, momentum slipping further away with each empty possession.
Freshman Amare Bynum changed that.
After scoring two points against Illinois Tuesday, Bynum provided the spark Ohio State desperately needed. He scored seven straight points, attacking the paint and slowly chipping away at the deficit. The freshman would have the best game of his career, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds.
“With Amare, every single time he was in the game, he provided a spark for us,” Diebler said.
With just under 10 minutes remaining, Bynum rose up and threw down a powerful dunk that cut the deficit to seven and jolted life back into the Buckeyes. From there, the tone shifted.
Ohio State tightened defensively and began winning the battle on the glass, using five offensive rebounds to generate eight second-chance points. The Mountaineer-heavy cheers faded as Buckeye fans found their voices.
“We just had to be us,” Diebler said. “There’s no 16-point shot. We told our guys to win the next four minutes, then turn around and do it again.”
Ohio State closed regulation on a 7-0 run over the final 2:30 to briefly take the lead, but a Jackson Fields layup with 1:03 remaining and multiple empty possessions from both teams sent the game into overtime.
The chaos only heightened.
Both teams traded baskets throughout the first extra period, neither side able to gain separation as the game remained tied at 77. Huff, who was quiet in regulation, carried the Mountaineers, scoring all nine of their points in the period on his way to a game-high 24 points.
In the second overtime, Ohio State fell behind by one after an off-balanced deep mid-range shot from Huff.
With Ohio State trailing by one and 3.3 seconds remaining, the Buckeyes put the ball in their leader, Thornton’s hands.
“I was just looking for the right decision,” Thornton said. “So I just took my time and trust the work I put in each and every day.”
The shot dropped.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Ohio State sealed the win with a deflection and steal by Colin White, punctuating a comeback defined by resilience rather than polish.
For Diebler, the result represented something bigger than a December win.
“We certainly were far from perfect today,” Diebler said. “But this team stayed together and tough.”
