Ohio State Explodes On Offense, Dominates Evansville 104-60 For Fourth Win Of Season 

Ohio State used a crisp overall offensive performance and some brilliant three-point shooting in the first half to take care of business against another mid major opponent Friday night at Value City Arena, trouncing Campbell 104-60 to improve to 4-1 on the season. 

Playing without sophomore center Aaron Bradshaw — who was not parrticpating in team events due to an undiscolosed reason — as well as injured forward Sean Stewart, the Buckeyes seeemed unphased from the start, making 11 of its first 13 shots from three and then dominating inside the paint in the second to secure the blowout and eclipse 100 points for the first time since Dec. 7, 2019. 

It was a much different feel than the start of the previous game, Ohio State and Evansville were entrenched in a track meet early on, with both teams racing up and down the floor to an 11-11 tie with 14:45 left. 

The Buckeyes — or more aptly John Mobley Jr. — then delivered the first body blow of the game. The true freshman guard scored eight straight points off the bench off two threes and a nifty layup to push the lead to 19-13 with 12:31 left. 

Campbell started to make a push with a quick 4-1 run, but the Buckeyes answered back with 15 straight points — nine of those coming off threes from Meechie Johnson Jr., Bruce Thornton, Mobley and Micah Parrish  — to take a commanding 35-17 lead with 7:00 left, forcing a Camel timeout. 

Campbell broke the run out of the break with a driving layup from Jasin Sinani, but that didn’t deter Ohio State, which continued to excel from the three-point line, getting four more triples — two from Mobley, one each from Thornton and Parrish — the rest of the period to help it take a resounding 53-27 lead into the half. 

The Buckeyes shot at an explosive clip in the first half, shooting 62.1 percent from the floor (18 of 29) and 84.6 percent from three (11 of 13). They also dominated on the defensive end, forcing five steals and holding the Camels to just 2 of 9 shooting from three (22.2 percent). 

Similarly to previous games this season, Ohio State looked to establish itself in the interior after halftime, and that exactly what they did. The Buckeyes looked to drive early and often, scoring each of its first 21 points of the half from either drives or free throws off drives to take a 74-40 lead with 12:10 left. 

Ohio State finally worked from the outside out of the TV timeout by way of a Parrish three with 11:10 left, which continued an eventual 14-2 run that put the Buckeyes up 85-42 with 9:38 left after an Evan Mahaffey basket. 

The rest of the game was window-dressing for the Buckeyes, who emptied their bench with about 4:15 left and extended its lead to as many as 47 points to cruise to the win. 

The Buckeyes hit the 100-point plateau off a thunderous dunk from Colin White with 2:44 left, his second of the night. 

Ohio State had six players reach double figures in scoring and four players make at least one three, a group led by true freshman John Mobley Jr., who netted 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting, 5 of 8 from three. He was one three shy of Malaki Branham’s program record for most makes in a game by a freshman. 

Royal added 17 points and eight rebounds, while Thornton had a team-high seven assists along with 11 points.

Campbell, who shot 3 of 17 from three and committed 14 turnovers, was led by Cam Gregory, Sinani and Frank, who scored 10 a piece. 

Ohio State will be in action again on Monday when it hosts Doug Gottlieb and Green Bay, with tip off set for 7 p.m. on BTN.