Clutch shot from Bruce Thornton lifts surging Buckeyes over Maryland

COLUMBUS — Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton hit a long 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds to play, breaking a tie and sending the home crowd at the Schottenstein Center home happy Thursday night with a Buckeyes win over Maryland.

Two months ago, the Buckeyes went to College Park and were handed a 24-point loss, an embarrassing stain on the first stretch of Big Ten play. But this isn’t the same Ohio State team the Terps dominated earlier in the year. Ohio State battled back despite trailing for most of the evening, and then Thornton hit the 3.

Final score: Ohio State 73, Maryland 70.

Ohio State improved to 14-9 overall and 6-6 in the tough Big Ten conference slate behind Thornton’s Herculean 31 points, six assists and five rebounds. Guard Micah Parrish was the only other Buckeyes player in double figures; he had 13.

The Buckeyes will face Nebraska on Sunday before coming back home to face Washington on Feb. 12 for the beginning of a three-game home stand, which will also feature home matchups against Michigan and Northwestern. Wins are there for the taking for this Ohio State team.

Win a few of those games, and the Buckeyes’ NCAA Tournament resume really begins to take shape. Drop those upcoming games after the three-game win streak and the understandable loss at Illinois but the win against Maryland at home, and the last few weeks of the season will be a tough stretch as Diebler pushes for a tournament berth in his first season as a head coach.

Ohio State remaining basketball schedule

Feb. 9 at Nebraska
Feb. 12 vs. Washington
Feb. 16 vs. Michigan
Feb. 20 vs. Northwestern
Feb. 23 at UCLA
Feb. 26 at USC
March 4 vs. Nebraska
March 8 at Indiana
March 12-16 Big Ten Tournament (Indianapolis)

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