Ohio State's early-season momentum kept rolling on Monday.
Bridging the gap between two ranked non-conference foes in Texas and Texas A&M, the Buckeyes welcomed Youngstown State to Value City Arena and left the Penguins out in the cold with an 81-47 win.
The Jake Diebler era at Ohio State is now off to a 2-0 start as Youngstown State dropped to 1-1 on the season. The Buckeyes held the Penguins to 23.7% from the field and 3-of-22 (13.6%) from three.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| YOUNGSTOWN STATE | 22 | 25 | 47 |
| #21 OHIO STATE | 37 | 44 | 81 |
Sophomore center Aaron Bradshaw enjoyed his first big performance for the Buckeyes after transferring in from Kentucky in the offseason, racking up 16 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal. He altered many more shots than included in that stat line.
"I think it started on the glass," Diebler said of Bradshaw after the game. "He was active on both sides of the ball, and then I felt like he was just a little more poised offensively."
Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. stayed hot off a 14-point debut against the No. 19 Longhorns, scoring 16 points and hitting his first three 3-point attempts to make it 7-of-7 to start his Ohio State career from distance. He finally missed a shot from deep midway through the second half.
Junior point guard Bruce Thornton picked up 12 points and senior guard Meechie Johnson Jr. grabbed 11 while sophomore forward and Duke transfer Sean Stewart collected 10.
First Half
Youngstown State scored on its first possession but it was all Buckeyes from there.
Bradshaw scored his first five points of his night to catalyze a 12-0 run, which also featured five points from Johnson. The Penguins answered a little bit to cut the lead to 12-6, but Mobley nailed two triples and pushed it back to double digits at 18-8 less than eight minutes into the contest.
Thornton got involved by cashing in a 3-pointer and Micah Parrish fed Bradshaw a lob he finished with a layup while hanging in the air. Royal stuck back a miss to make it 27-14, but a triple by Jason Nelson helped cut the edge back to single digits at 27-18.
Once more, Ohio State slowly worked to expand its lead again. Sean Stewart picked up a quick four points including a nice drive and finish below the rim through contact, and a mid-range jumper by Thornton made it a 35-20 ballgame. That margin held going into the locker room, with the Buckeyes ahead 37-22.
Defense was the name of the game for Ohio State in the first half as it held Youngstown State to an abysmal 21.9% from the field. That included a 1-of-12 mark for the Penguins from three.
Second Half
| OHIO STATE | STAT | YOUNGSTOWN STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 81 | POINTS | 47 |
| 31-56 (55.5%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 14-59 (23.7%) |
| 10-22 (45.5%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 3-22 (13.6%) |
| 9-13 (69.2%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 16-24 (66.7%) |
| 15 | TURNOVERS | 12 |
| 41 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 29 |
| 7 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 13 |
| 34 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 16 |
| 28 | BENCH POINTS | 20 |
| 6 | BLOCKS | 4 |
| 7 | STEALS | 8 |
| 16 | ASSISTS | 6 |
If any doubt were left about the result of Monday's game, Ohio State erased it with an extended 9-1 run to push its lead to 48-25 with 16:50 to play.
Bradshaw scored six of the first eight points for the Buckeyes in the second half, cashing in a nice baby hook shot over 7-foot-3 Youngstown State center Gabe Dynes. Johnson nailed a triple to close Ohio State's run.
Mobley knocked down an open corner 3 and got three points the old-fashioned way on Ohio State's next possession to push past double figures on the game and push the Buckeyes' advantage to 60-31. Diebler started rolling his depth options with the game well in hand, as freshman forward Colin White received the first minutes of his career in Columbus.
From there it was merely a matter of cleanup for the Buckeyes. Mobley flexed some of his mid-range game on a clean pull-up jumper as Johnson and Ques Glover each hit 3-pointers and Ohio State led 78-43 before closing out the 81-47 victory with a three from freshman walk-on Braylen Nash in his Ohio State debut.
What's Next?
Ohio State hits the road to face its second ranked opponent of the year, No. 23 Texas A&M. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. Friday on SEC Network.
Game Notes
- Ohio State debuted a new PA announcer for its home games against Youngstown State, Nick Wiget, who fills the same role for the Cincinnati Bengals, Cincinnati Bearcats, FC Cincinnati and other teams.
- Seven different Buckeyes made their Value City Arena debut against the Penguins: Parrish, Stewart, Bradshaw, Mobley, Ques Glover, Ivan Njegovan, White and Nash. It was the first career game period for Njegovan, White and Nash.
- Buckeye students got in free to watch the Buckeyes blow out the Penguins.
- A combined 39 fouls were called in Monday's contest.
- Youngstown State’s 23.7% shooting percentage from the field was the lowest by an Ohio State opponent since the Buckeyes held Youngstown State to only 21% shooting on Dec. 20, 2016.
