Ohio State (11-4, 3-2 Big Ten) managed a big win over Oregon (8-8, 1-4) to start its West Coast trip, beating the Ducks 72-62 at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday.
It was a close game a few minutes into the second half, with the Buckeyes leading by three points, but OSU scored 21 unanswered points to decide the game.
The scoring started with an Oregon layup, but sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. took the first lead of the game for the Buckeyes with a deep three-pointer at 18:38.
OSU didn’t score again until freshman forward Amare Bynum scored on a putback layup at 16:38, but the Buckeyes went up 7-2 on another layup from Bynum thanks to a cold start for the Ducks.
After Oregon made a layup and junior forward Devin Royal made a three-pointer six minutes into the game, both teams went 2:27 without scoring. The Ducks broke the streak with two free throws to make it 10-6.
Ohio State’s lead grew to six points multiple times over the next few minutes, but sophomore guard Gabe Cupps made his first three since Dec. 6 to go up 18-9 with 8:20 remaining in the half.
The Buckeye lead grew to 10 points at 3:50 when Cupps made two free throws and again when senior guard Bruce Thornton drained a three just over 30 seconds later. The Ducks were able to shrink the gap with a 9-4 run to end the half and Ohio State went into halftime with a 34-29 lead.
The Buckeyes opened the scoring in the second half on a layup by Bynum, but Oregon quickly got within two points, 36-34, with a three-pointer and a layup.
But senior center Christoph Tilly made an and-one layup to go back up by four before missing the free throw. Off the miss, Bynum grabbed the rebound and after a missed layup that was tipped out to Thornton, the senior drained a three to go up by seven points at 17:24.
The Ducks brought the game back within three points multiple times, with a Kwame Evans Jr. three-pointer making the score 46-43 in favor of OSU at 14:05. But the Buckeyes went on a 21-0 run, holding Oregon scoreless for over seven minutes of game time.
The Ducks finally ended that run with 6:43 left in the game, but it had already been decided by that point.
The Buckeyes had five players reach double-digit scoring with Tilly and Royal leading the way with 14 points each. Mobley (13), Thornton (12)and Bynum (10) were the other three in double figures. Royal had a double-double with 10 rebounds, which led the game.
