Buckeyes Open Jake Diebler Era With Statement Win Over No. 19 Texas, 80-72

Flexing the energy Diebler advertised on both ends of the floor, the Buckeyes took down No. 19 Texas in a neutral-site game as part of the Hall of Fame Series, never trailing in an 80-72 victory.

Veteran guards Bruce Thornton and Micah Parrish paced the Buckeyes with 20 and 17 points, with sophomore forward Devin Royal following closely behind at 16.

Freshman John Mobley Jr. was the revelation of the evening for Ohio State, scoring 14 points in Las Vegas, where he spent multiple high school basketball seasons playing for Bishop Gorman. The four-star prospect lived up to his nickname of "the Sniper," going 4-for-4 from downtown.

The Buckeyes as a team took a perimeter-centric approach on offense, going 14-of-28 beyond the arc.

Freshman Tre Johnson led the way for the Longhorns, racking up 29 points.

First Half

Ohio State came out firing. The Buckeyes attempted seven 3-pointers in the first four minutes of action and four of them hit nylon.

Thornton started the show with a clean make from deep off-the-dribble on Ohio State's first shot of the season, catalyzing an 8-0 run to open the contest. Parrish, Meechie Johnson Jr., Royal and Mobley all joined him in hitting triples before the under-12 media timeout, which the Buckeyes entered with a 21-16 lead.

That scoreline was indicative of the game's early pace, which Diebler fueled by rolling 10 players into the affair within the first eight minutes. Tre Johnson kept the Longhorns in striking distance early, collecting eight points in the game's first nine minutes. He hit a well-contested layup to cut the early lead to 21-18.

Then Mobley knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, the latter of which was from closer to the half-court line than the actual 3-point line. Meechie Johnson added his own triple and by the time the dust settled, a 12-0 run made it a 33-18 Ohio State lead.

Texas answered right back with a 10-0 run of its own. The Buckeyes maintained some great intensity on the defensive end as their shots went a little colder, though, and slogged a 38-31 edge into halftime.

Second Half

The first few minutes of the second period stayed mostly nip-and-tuck, but a corner triple and a pair of free throws from Mobley helped push the Buckeye lead back to double digits at 51-40.

Texas again answered, this time with a 6-0 run as Ohio State starting forwards Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart each collected their third fouls. But Thornton quieted the noise with his third 3-pointer of the contest.

Back and forth the teams went. The Longhorns chipped the lead down to three at 59-56 and then 61-58, but Parrish had another 3-point answer for Ohio State to set the score at 64-58 with 7:19 to play.

Before Texas knew who to tango with, that triple launched an extended 10-1 run capped by a triple from Royal to make it 71-59 Ohio State with 5:13 to play. A 3-pointer from Tre Johnson did little to help the Longhorns' cause, as Thornton rattled off five straight points to make it a 76-64 ballgame with 2:49 to play.

What's Next?

Ohio State gets a week to rest before its home opener against Youngstown State, a chance to rest up and tune up in Value City Arena. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

Game Notes

• Ohio State shot 10-of-17 from 3 in the first half and just 2-of-16 from 2.
• Following that start, the Buckeyes closed the game shooting 55.6% from the field overall in the second half.
• Four different Buckeyes finished 50% or better from 3 on at least four attempts: Thornton (3-of-4), Mobley (4-of-4), Royal (2-of-4) and Parrish (3-of-6).
• Texas was without guard Tramon Mark and forward Devon Pryor, both sidelined due to injury.