Ohio State hit no humps knocking off the Fighting Camels on Friday night.
The hands of the Buckeyes' shooters proved hotter than asphalt in Alabama on a summer's day. Ohio State went 65% from 3-point range, including a gaudy 11-of-13 line in the first half from beyond the arc.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAMPBELL | 27 | 33 | 60 |
| OHIO STATE | 53 | 51 | 104 |
Ohio State (4-1) built a 53-27 lead by halftime en route to a 104-60 clobbering of Campbell (3-3) to capture back-to-back victories for the second time in 2024-25.
Freshman John Mobley Jr.'s rise to Ohio State stardom continued with a first-half firework show. He posted 19 of his 23 points in the opening 20 minutes and went 5-of-5 from 3-point range.
Senior guard Micah Parrish found a productive evening as well, racking up 16 points with nine rebounds and going 4-of-4 from outside. Sophomore forward Devin Royal added 17 points and eight boards while junior guard Bruce Thornton posted 11 points and a game-high seven assists.
Meechie Johnson Jr. and Evan Mahaffey made it six Buckeyes who scored in double-figures against the Camels, collecting 12 and 11 points, respectively.
First Half
Campbell kept within striking distance in the opening six minutes, with both teams getting off to a quick offensive start. Mobley made sure the Camels didn't stay close.
With the game tied at 11, Mobley nailed a contested 3-pointer from the right wing. Campbell responded with a layup only for the freshman to answer with a gorgeous double-clutch scoop lay-in of his own. Mobley then splashed a triple from well behind the top of the key near Ohio State's half-court logo. Austin Parks hit a free throw to cap a 6-0 Buckeye run and make it a 20-13 lead.
The Camels sliced the advantage down to 20-17 only for the Buckeyes to rattle off a quartet of 3-pointers from Johnson Jr., Thornton, Mobley and Parrish for a 15-0 run that made the scoreline 35-17 with 5:42 to play in the first half. The Buckeyes' lead never fell back below double-digits.
Another Mobley 3-pointer from somewhere outside Franklin County pushed Ohio State's lead to 38-19. Thornton and Micah Parrish made distance shots in between Mobley's fourth 3-point make in as many tries, pushing the halftime lead to 53-27.
The Buckeyes made 10 consecutive 3-point attempts to close the half.
16 PTS
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 22, 2024
5/5 FG
4/4 3FG
John Mobley Jr. has started hot for @OhioStateHoops #B1GMBBall on @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/meyCjRzXZx
Second Half
| OHIO STATE | STAT | CAMPBELL |
|---|---|---|
| 104 | POINTS | 60 |
| 40-62 (64.5%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 21-52 (40.4%) |
| 13-20 (65%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 4-20 (20%) |
| 11-19 (57.9%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 14-21 (66.7%) |
| 8 | TURNOVERS | 15 |
| 35 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 26 |
| 6 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 4 |
| 29 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 22 |
| 37 | BENCH POINTS | 21 |
| 4 | BLOCKS | 5 |
| 8 | STEALS | 3 |
| 22 | ASSISTS | 6 |
Royal came out on fire in the second period, collecting eight of Ohio State's first 10 points after halftime on three made layups and a dunk. A turnaround baby hook in the post from Parks extended the Buckeyes' lead past 30 at 66-35.
Freshman Colin White hit a layup to cap a 9-0 run, and the Buckeyes embarked on another 9-0 jaunt a few minutes later. Parrish hit a triple and Mobley floated home a layup to push the edge to 81-40 with 10:26 to play.
Mahaffey put in work on both ends of the floor, picking up three points the old-fashioned way before swatting his third blocked shot of the contest, a career-high.
Johnson and White put a nice exclamation point on the win with less than five minutes to play, connecting for a gorgeous alley-oop slam that brought the Value City Arena crowd to its feet and pushed the lead to 95-49. Ohio State emptied its bench shortly thereafter.
Johnson White
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 23, 2024
Another look at this alley-oop slam for @OhioStateHoops #B1GMBBall on @BigTenNetwork https://t.co/A2kRlcU0d3 pic.twitter.com/Ub7fgGG88c
Forward Kalen Etzler scored his first points of the season, then a White slam pushed the Buckeyes past triple digits with a 101-54 lead. Another three by Etzler gave the Buckeyes their final points of the night in a 44-point win.
What's Next?
Ohio State returns to Value City Arena on Monday for the third game of its four-game homestand against Green Bay. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
Game Notes
- Ohio State was without sophomore forwards Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart for Friday’s contest. Bradshaw is currently not participating in team activities, with Ohio State saying before the game that it could not comment on the reason for his absence due to federal privacy reasons. Stewart was in concussion protocol after taking a hard fall in Tuesday’s win over Evansville.
- Campbell is the former coaching stop for newly minted Ohio State head baseball coach Justin Haire.
- Jake Diebler's career record against non-Power Conference opponents improved to 4-0 with the win over the Camels.
- Friday was the first time scoring 100 points for Ohio State since Dec. 7, 2019, when the Buckeyes racked up 106 points against Penn State.
