Games between bubble teams are particularly crucial, and Ohio State outlasted USC in one of those battles on Wednesday night despite another big game from Trojans freshman Alijah Arenas.
Bruce Thornton scored 21 points and hit two late throws to help Ohio State secure an 89-82 victory. The Buckeyes (16-6 overall, 8-6 Big Ten) trailed 43-40 at halftime after missing 11 of their first 13 free throws, but Thornton steadied the hosts in the second half.
The Buckeyes grabbed their largest lead at 67-60 with eight minutes left after a Devin Royal layup and a John Mobley Jr. 3-pointer. USC (18-7, 7-7) answered with a 7-0 run capped by a Jordan Marsh 3-pointer to cut it to 70-69, but Christoph Tilly scored inside, and Royal added a jumper to push the margin back to five.
Arenas hit a 3-pointer with 1:09 remaining to pull USC within 82-81, but Thornton responded with a driving layup and converted the free throw to make it 85-81. Thornton made two free throws with 22.5 seconds left to make it 87-82 before the Trojans turned the ball over. He then made another pair from the line to finish 11 for 11. USC missed two shots in the final 30 seconds.
Royal scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Ohio State, and Mobley added 13. Thornton reached double figures for the 23rd time this season.
Arenas scored 25 points for USC – the third straight game of 20-plus for the freshman who missed the first 18 games of the season with a knee injury. He scored 24 and made the winning shot with 0.7 seconds left in a 77-75 victory at Penn State on Sunday.
Kam Woods added 14 points and Ezra Ausar finished with 13 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 4:21 left for the Trojans, who saw their three-game winning streak end. Jordan Marsh also scored 13 and Jacob Cofie scored 10 of his 12 in the first half for USC, which has played eight consecutive games decided by seven points or fewer.
Chad Baker-Mazara, the Trojans’ second-leading scorer at 18.3 points per game, missed his second straight game with a knee strain.
Ohio State took its first lead since the 8:46 mark of the first half when Cristoph Tilly made two free throws to go up 51-49 with 14:23 to play. The Buckeyes were able to stretch the advantage to 80-71 and did not trail again.
Thornton’s jumper with 9:38 left in the first half moved him past Kelvin Ransey (1,934 career points) for fifth place on Ohio State’s career scoring list.
He scored only two more points in the half because 26 seconds later, he went to the bench after picking up his second foul with the Buckeyes leading 19-18. Thornton returned with 24 seconds left and Ohio State trailing 43-38 and scored on a drive through the lane at the buzzer to cut the deficit to three.
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USC hosts No. 8 Illinois next Wednesday (Feb. 18) at 7 p.m.
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