Down 15 in first half, Ohio State storms past Rutgers

Field Level Media|published: Fri 2nd January, 22:37 2026

Jan 2, 2026; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) goes to the basket as Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Tariq Francis (0) and forward Bryce Dortch (4) defends during the first half at Jersey Mike's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Bruce Thornton led all scorers with 20 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to help Ohio State overcome a 15-point deficit and defeat Rutgers 80-73 on Friday night in Piscataway, N.J.

Thornton entered the Big Ten matchup tied for 17th in Div. I with 21.0 points per game. The Buckeyes (10-3, 2-1) received 16 points from Devin Royal, 14 from Brandon Noel and 12 from John Mobley Jr.

Rutgers (7-7, 0-3) led by four at halftime, but was outscored 43-32 in the second half. The Scarlet Knights dropped to 6-3 at home.

Tariq Francis led Rutgers with 17 points, but was limited to two points in the second half. Dylan Grant added 14 points for the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers, which entered the game ranked last among Big Ten teams in both scoring (68.7) and field goal percentage (40.3%), was 27 of 64 from the floor (42.2%) and 6 of 22 from 3-point territory (27.3%).

Rutgers had a 39-24 lead after Francis capped an 11-0 run on a 3-pointer with 3:58 remaining in the first half, but Ohio State outscored Rutgers 13-2 the rest of the half and trailed 41-37 at halftime.

The Buckeyes took their first lead of the second half when a Mobley 3-pointer put them up 44-43 with 17:26 to play and led 55-47 after a Thornton layup with 13:53 left.

Rutgers regained the lead at 61-60 on a Kaden Powers dunk with 9:05 left, and the game was tied at 67 with 5:49 remaining. A three-point play by Royal handed Ohio State a 70-67 lead and Rutgers trailed the rest of the way.

Ohio State shot 27 of 52 (51.9%) from the field and hit 7 of its 16 3-point attempts (43.8%).

--Field Level Media

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