Eric Boggs
Ohio State looked bad for the first 13 minutes of this game. They couldn’t buy a bucket as they stumbled around offensively to find their footing for the better part of the first half. But once they found their rhythm, it was game over for the basketball team whose football counterpart once shocked the world by defeating Michigan in the Big House. The same shame wouldn’t be placed on Ohio State Tuesday night.
The Buckeyes scored just 10 points in the opening 13 minutes, shooting 1-for-13 from the field and 0-for-8 from beyond the arc. The Value City Arena crowd grew restless as Appalachian State built a 22-10 lead, and boos even trickled down from the stands as Ohio State searched for answers. But when the Buckeyes finally woke up, they were unstoppable.
Behind a dominant 42-10 run that spanned the end of the first half and the start of the second, Ohio State flipped the game on its head, cruising to a 75-53 victory to move to 3-0 on the season. Brandon Noel led the charge with his best performance yet in scarlet and gray, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for his first double-double as a Buckeye. John Mobley Jr. added 16 points, while Bruce Thornton chipped in 13 and orchestrated the offense with poise.
The comeback began with a spark from Noel, who buried Ohio State’s first three-pointer after an 0-for-11 start from deep. Freshman forward Colin White, making his first career start in place of the injured Devin Royal, gave the Buckeyes an emotional boost with his energy and defense. That intensity carried into a suffocating defensive stretch in which the Buckeyes held Appalachian State scoreless for the final 5:29 of the first half.
Mobley took control offensively during that run, scoring eight straight points, six of which came from the free throw line. As the half expired, Thornton drilled a corner three at the buzzer to give Ohio State a 30-25 lead — its first of the night and one it would never relinquish.
The Buckeyes came out of the locker room and picked up right where they left off. Christoph Tilly’s and-one layup extended Ohio State’s run to 18 straight points, and even when the Mountaineers briefly answered, Mobley responded with another deep three to restore momentum. The floodgates opened from there — Thornton, Mobley, and Noel combined for 16 straight points to blow the game open, capped by a highlight-reel alley-oop from Thornton to freshman Amare Bynum that brought the crowd to its feet.
By the midway point of the second half, Ohio State led by more than 20, and the result was no longer in doubt. The Buckeyes shot 47.3% from the field and limited Appalachian State to just 35.7%, playing their most disciplined game of the young season. After committing 35 turnovers combined in their first two contests, Ohio State finished this one with only four — a clear sign of progress under head coach Jake Diebler.
Noel’s efficient inside play, Mobley’s outside shooting, and Thornton’s steady leadership proved to be the winning formula on a night that began with frustration but ended with dominance. Even without Royal, the Buckeyes showed their depth and resilience, responding to adversity with the kind of maturity fans have been hoping to see.
Now sitting at 3-0, Ohio State will get its first real test of the season when Notre Dame visits Value City Arena on Sunday. If the Buckeyes can bring the same intensity they displayed over the final 27 minutes Tuesday night, they’ll have every reason to believe their early-season success can keep rolling.
