BYU hung 94 points on Ohio State last night, crushing the Buckeyes 94-83 in their season opener after Ohio State coughed up a halftime lead at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. It is an 0-1 start for the Buckeyes, and frankly, it felt like a game they had in the bag early.
Fast Start, Faster Collapse
The Buckeyes actually came out firing. Amare Bynum kicked things off with a three-pointer, even grabbing Ohio State’s first five points, and they pushed hard to a 13-5 lead by the first media timeout. We saw them extend that out to 22-11 after a Josh Ojianwuna basket off a John Mobley assist. Baskets went back and forth, but BYU chipped away. A Justin Pippen three-pointer cut the halftime lead to just 37-34 for Ohio State. At the break, Bynum, Mobley, and Pippen were doing the heavy lifting, each with eight points. For BYU, Rob Wright led with 14 points, and Tyler Betsey added eight. Interestingly, the two five-star freshmen, Anthony Thompson for Ohio State and Bruce Branch III for BYU, combined for a measly two points in the opening 20 minutes, going 1-for-9 from the field. Not exactly a five-star debut, huh? The Buckeyes were clearly experimenting early, putting 11 players on the court in the first six minutes alone.
The Wright Stuff
Whatever BYU coach said at halftime, it worked, because the Cougars exploded out of the locker room. They hit Ohio State with a brutal 7-0 run immediately, snatching a 41-37 lead. Jelavic tried to keep it close, cutting it to two points, but Rob Wright III slammed the door with another three-pointer, making it 44-39. This guy was relentless. Pippen picked up his third foul on an and-one layup by Wright, which forced him to the bench for Curtis Givens. That ensuing free throw alone pushed Wright to 20 points with a whopping 16 minutes still left in the game. BYU kept pouring it on, hitting 50-43 after another bucket and foul. Then, just as Bynum nailed a three-pointer and a transition dunk to pull it to 50-48, he slipped and rolled his ankle with 15 minutes to go. He went to the locker room, but credit to the kid, he was back on the floor just two minutes later, and Pippen even tied the game at 52. They traded blows, tied at 59, but then BYU just absolutely took over with a 13-2 run, making it 72-61 with 7:13 left. That is a gut punch, right there.
Fouls, Freshmen, and the Finish
Ohio State could not catch a break. Mobley picked up two fouls on consecutive defensive possessions with five minutes left, fouling out of the game. Anthony Thompson finally got his first points of the season from the free-throw line with four minutes to go, but it felt too little, too late. BYU maintained a 77-69 lead at the under-4 media timeout. A Collin Chandler dunk stretched the lead to 84-76, and then Pippen also fouled out. BYU closed it out, taking the 94-83 win. Rob Wright III was the undisputed star of the night, finishing with a ridiculous 33 points. Bynum led Ohio State with 20 points, Mobley added 14, and Andrija Jelavic chipped in 13, all in the second half.
The Buckeyes are back in action Friday night, hosting Youngstown State at 6:30 on Big Ten Network Plus. They will need to clean up those second-half collapses and stay out of foul trouble if they want to get this season on the right track. Can they bounce back fast, or is this early struggle a sign of things to come? We will be watching.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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