Bruce Thornton hit a leaning jumper with 3.6 seconds left in double overtime to give Ohio State an 89-88 victory over West Virginia in the Cleveland Hoops Showdown on Saturday.
Thornton led the Buckeyes (8-2) with 21 points, John Mobley Jr. and Amare Bynum each scored 17 points and Cristoph Tilly scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Devin Royal had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Honor Huff led the Mountaineers (8-4) with 24 points. Brenen Lorient added 18 points, while Jasper Floyd and Chance Moore each had 14 points.
Thornton hit a jumper in double overtime to give Ohio State an 85-83 lead with 59 seconds left, but West Virginia answered on Lorient’s 3-pointer to take an 86-85 lead with 39 seconds left. Then, Thornton made two free throws.
Huff’s corner jumper gave the Mountaineers an 88-87 lead with 12.3 seconds left, but Thornton’s game-winner put the Buckeyes back in front. After that, Lorient failed to recover a long pass and time ran out.
Corner threes by Lorient and Eaglestaff on consecutive Mountaineers possessions gave West Virginia a 28-19 lead and capped a 12-2 run at the 6:56 mark in the first half. Chance Moore nailed a third-down fadeaway corner to send the Mountaineers into halftime with a 37-27 lead.
A Bynum dunk was part of an 8-0 rally by the Buckeyes that pulled Ohio State to within 55-52.
The Buckeyes took a 68-66 lead as Mobley Jr. hit a contested three with 1:03 left in regulation. A layup by Fields tied the game at 68. Thornton then missed a half-court shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, a three by Huff gave West Virginia a 77-76 lead with 59 seconds left. Royal then split a pair of free throws and Huff missed a layup at the buzzer to send the game into double overtime tied at 77.
–Field level media
