Ohio State Unable To Pull Off Late Comeback In 71-70 Loss To No. 12 North Carolina In CBS Sports Classic

Ohio State was unable to pull off the late comeback against No. 12 North Carolina, falling 71-70 after turnover with less than 20 seconds left gave the Tar Heels a chance to take the lead.

Sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. was unable to make a last-second deep, contested three. The Buckeyes were led by junior forward Devin Royal in the game, who had 18 points, 12 of them in the first half.

Ohio State was cold to start the game, making just one of its first six shots to start the game, with freshman forward Amare Bynum scoring the first two points in his first career start. But Mobley. put the Buckeyes up 5-2 at 17:39 with a three from the corner.

It took 3:24 for OSU to put more points on the board, with Bynum making a dunk at 14:15 to tie the game up at seven.

The back-and-forth continued as Henri Veesaar of UNC made a three from the top of the key and senior guard Bruce Thornton followed with a jumper for a 10-9 deficit.

Out of a media timeout, senior center Christoph Tilly took the lead back for the Buckeyes, 11-10 at 11:23 with a hook shot. But the Tar Heels were able to take a 14-11 lead on two free throws and a fast break dunk on the ensuing possession.

Ohio State scored five straight points, with a three from Royal giving the Scarlet and Gray the lead back, 16-14 after Royal’s steal.

After a 17-17 tie, UNC converted a three-point play and Bynum brought OSU back within one with a hook shot. North Carolina then would go on a 7-0 run to take a 27-19 lead at 4:15 before Royal ended the streak with a free throw.

UNC took a nine-point lead at 3:30, but Ohio State was able to tie the game back up before halftime with an 11-2 run led by Royal, who had seven points over that span and finished it off with a fast break dunk with 54 seconds left. A three by Derek Dixon with 38 seconds left sent the Buckeyes into the locker room down 34-31.

Both teams struggled to knock down shots in the first half, with the Buckeyes shooting 11 of 33 from the field (33.3 percent) and North Carolina making 13 of 30 (43.3 percent).

Both teams started the second half shooting the ball better as North Carolina got out to a 44-39 lead just under three minutes into the frame. A Seth Trimble three-pointer at 16:11 made it 47-41 before head coach Jake Diebler called a timeout.

The deficit grew to 10 points, 51-41 before Tilly scored the first Buckeyes points in 3:30 on a second-chance layup. A Mobley jumper cut the lead back to six before UNC scored five straight to take its biggest lead of the game, 56-45, at 11:14.

The Buckeyes tried to hang around with the Tar Heels, getting back within eight points, 59-51, with six straight points from Thornton. A Royal layup made that a six-point deficit but UNC’s Seth Trimble made a three to go up 62-53.

Two Thornton free throws and two Tilly free throws after a flagrant foul brought OSU back within five points, 62-57, with six minutes left, but UNC freshman Caleb Wilson made a dunk soon after.

Bynum converted a three-point play to make the score 64-60, but with 2:37 left and OSU down 66-64, Bynum picked up his fifth foul and was replaced by sophomore forward Colin White.

North Carolina had a 67-66 lead before Mobley converted a four-point play, making a deep three and draining the free throw with just 48 seconds left. Trimble brought the game within one with a layup and UNC called a timeout with 34 seconds left.

The Buckeyes struggled with a full-court press out of the timeout, and in an attempt to avoid a 10-second violation, White heaved the ball over the half-court line, which was stolen by UNC. The Tar Heels called a timeout with 18 seconds left.

Out of the timeout, Veesaar made a dunk to take the lead back, 71-70 with just seven seconds remaining in the game. Mobley missed a last-second contested three.

Thornton had 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting in the game and tied for the team lead with four assists. Tilly added 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, with a team-high 10 rebounds for a double-double.

North Carolina was led by Wilson, who had 20 points in the contest on 9-of-16 shooting with a career-high 15 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.