CLEVELAND — Bruce Thornton scored 19 of his 21 points after halftime — which included the go-ahead jumper with 3.6 seconds left — and Ohio State rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat West Virginia, 89-88, in double overtime on Saturday night at the Cleveland Hoops Showdown.
Freshman Amare Bynum started the second half and scored 15 of his season-high 17 points after halftime for Ohio State (8-2). John Mobley Jr. also scored 17 and Christoph Tilly had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Honor Huff hit five 3-pointers and led West Virginia (8-4) with 24 points. Brenen Lorient added 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting, 3 of 3 from 3-point range. Jasper Floyd and Chance Moore each scored 14 points.
Huff hit a long 2-point shot from the right corner that gave the Mountaineers a one-point lead with 11 seconds left, but Thornton worked his way into the lane and hit a contested jumper to cap the scoring.
Huff hit a contested side-step 3-pointer with about a minute left in OT that gave the Mountaineers a one-point lead, but Devin Royal made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 77-all.
Floyd made a pull-up jumper near the right elbow, Huff hit a step-back 3 and Jackson Fields hit another from behind the arc to give the Mountaineers a 51-37 lead — their largest of the game — with 13:52 left in regulation.
Mobley hit a contested 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to cap a 10-3 run and give Ohio State a two-point lead — its first of the second half — with 52 seconds to play. Huff found Jackson Fields for a layup that made it 68-all 16 seconds later and eventually forced overtime.
Up next
West Virginia: The Mountaineers host Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 22.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes take on No. 14 North Carolina at the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta.
