Ohio State got back in the win column for its last game of the 2025 calendar year, beating Grambling State 89-63 on Dec. 23 at Value City Arena.
The Buckeyes were led by sophomore guard John Mobley Jr., who had a strong second-half performance with 15 points in the final 20 minutes of the game on 4-of-6 shooting, all four makes from three-point range.
Senior center Christoph Tilly scored the first four points of the game for the Buckeyes, but Grambling State was able to make a couple of shots to hold a 5-4 lead at 17:20. Junior forward Devin Royal made a layup to take a 6-5 lead 19 seconds later and that score held until freshman forward Amare Bynum made a layup at 14:54.
A layup from sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. at 11:32 capped off a 10-0 Buckeye run that gave them a 14-5 lead.
The Tigers made it a 14-12 game before Bynum created some separation again with a three from the top of the key.
From there, Ohio State controlled the rest of the half. The Buckeyes went up by 10 points for the first time on the first of two free throws by Thornton at 2:23, and a Thornton three-point play with 36 seconds left gave them a 14-point lead.
Then, after a jumper from the Tigers, a three-pointer for Mobley sent the game into halftime with the Buckeyes holding onto a 39-24 lead.
It was a turnover-filled first half for both teams, with Ohio State and Grambling State both giving the ball away 10 times each. The difference in the frame was the Buckeyes’ shot making, shooting 15 of 22 from the field (68.2 percent) while the Tigers were just 8-of-25 shooting (32.0 percent).
Early in the second half, Ohio State got out to a 48-29 lead on a free throw from senior forward Brandon Noel at 17:11 as the Buckeyes continued to be aggressive in the paint.
The lead remained between 16 and 20 points until the Tigers went on a seven-point run that included two OSU turnovers and made the score 56-44 with 12:23 left in the game.
Mobley took control with two straight three-point jumpers to get the lead back out to 18 points at 10:57 and a converted three-point play by Bynum made the score 67-44. Mobley made another three at 9:02 for a 26-point lead as OSU held the Tigers scoreless for 3:32 of game time while it went on a 14-0 run.
The Buckeyes went 3:28 without a field goal, but made six free throws during that span, holding a 76-54 lead before Royal’s dunk at 5:33 ended that streak. Ohio State cruised the rest of the way to the XX-point victory.
Mobley had a total of 20 points in the contest on 6-of-10 shooting while each of the other four starters — Thornton (18), Royal (16), Bynum (12) and Tilly (10) — also reached double-digit points. Bynum brought down a game-high eight rebounds.
The Buckeyes were 31 of 50 from the field as a team in the game while holding the Tigers to just 20 of 52 shots made.
Grambling State was led by a 19-point performance from Antonio Munoz.
