Ohio State men's basketball falls to Illinois thanks to Fighting Illini comeback

Ohio State men’s basketball falls to Illinois thanks to Fighting Illini comeback

Posted by author February 2, 2025 Basketball

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Bruce Thornton leaned into a jumper, sinking it from straight-on to seemingly stem yet another push from Illinois. Upon review, it was ruled a 3-pointer, pushing Ohio State’s lead to 68-63 with 7:30 to play in a game the Buckeyes had led for the entire second half.

Ohio State had withstood two 10-0 Illinois runs to that point, but Illinois’ best was still to come. The Buckeyes (13-9, 5-6 Big Ten), fell apart from there, allowing No. 18 Illinois (15-7, 7-5) to blow the game open in the final seven minutes to win going away, 87-79.

This time, the Illinois kill shot was a 15-0 run broken by a Ques Glover bucket with 2:28 to play. That made it 78-70, and Glover fouled out 17 seconds later.

The Buckeyes missed 12 of their next 13 shots after Thornton’s 3-pointer. That drought was only broken by a Devin Royal dunk off a Thornton 3-point miss, giving him 29 points, 19 of which came during the first half.

The loss ends Ohio State’s three-game winning streak and comes in what was the team’s third game in seven days. Royal’s scoring total was a career-high in Big Ten play. Thornton added 22 and freshman John Mobley Jr. had 18.

The Buckeyes were shorthanded while the Illini got a key piece of their rotation back. Sophomore forward Sean Stewart was listed as questionable but missed the game due to illness. Illinois center Tomislav Ivisic returned after missing three games with mononucleosis.

Still, Ohio State built a lead as high as 11 points during the second half and maintained it until a three-point play from Kylan Boswell with 6:04 to play put the home team ahead 70-68. It was Illinois’ first lead of the half.

Ohio State took its largest lead of the first half with a Bruce Thornton steal-and-score with 5:26 remaining that pushed its lead to 34-25, but Illinois answered with its second 10-0 run of the half to pull ahead 35-34 on a Kylan Boswell 3-pointer with 2:44 left. Ohio State responded, again, with a run to close the half, getting five points including a 3-pointer from Royal to close on an 8-1 run and lead 42-36.

Royal had 19 at the half and already a career-high three 3-pointers, while Illinois’ Morez Johnson Jr. had 10 points and 10 rebounds – five at each end of the court – to pace the Illini at the break.

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy