Ohio State knows it can rely on its best player to calm the storm if needed when the Buckeyes face Appalachian State on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.
Bruce Thornton had a career-high 38 points Friday in a 94-68 win over Purdue Fort Wayne, but the total wasn’t as important as when he scored.
The Buckeyes (2-0) had an 18-point lead cut to 11 late in the first half before he scored seven straight points on three Ohio State possessions for a 45-30 halftime lead.
It was the type of leadership expected from the only four-time captain in the 127-year history of the program.
“Me being older and understanding how momentum works and energy works, it’s so crucial,” Thornton said. “Especially in college basketball, anybody can be beat on any given night. Me cutting the momentum I felt was like a big thing. I felt the momentum shift so I tried to do my best offensively and defensively to split the momentum.”
He was 14-of-17 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three-point range, while making all five free throws.
In addition to being a steady influence, he moved from 19th to 15th on the Ohio State all-time scoring list with 1,551 points in 104 starts. Among those he passed were 2010 National Player of the Year Evan Turner and Jon Diebler, the brother of Ohio State coach Jake Diebler.
“Good,” Jake Diebler joked of his younger sibling. “Knock him down a little bit.”
App State (2-1) also has veteran leadership in Kasen Jennings, a South Florida transfer, who played in the NCAA Tournament for Kennesaw State in 2023.
He scored a career-high 22 points in the 76-54 win against North Carolina Central on Sunday.
“He means a lot, not only for me, but the whole team,” center Luke Wilson said. “He’s been in that big dance. So having him here as a leader, helping us, pushing us every day, knowing how hard it is to go get there, it helps us a lot. We really appreciate having him.”
-Field Level Media
