COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Bruce Thornton scored a career-high 38 points to lead Ohio State to a 94-68 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday night.
Thornton made 14 of 17 shots from the floor, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, for the Buckeyes (2-0). The senior guard added five rebounds and five assists.
John Mobley Jr. hit 5 of 9 from beyond the arc and scored 19 for Ohio State. Christoph Tilly pitched in with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Mikale Stevenson led the Mastodons (0-2) with 21 points. DeAndre Craig Jr. added 18 points and Darius Duffy scored 10.
Mobley, Thornton and Tilly did all the scoring as Ohio State jumped out to a 24-7 lead in the first 7:40. Stevenson hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left to get Purdue Fort Wayne within 45-30 at halftime.
Deandre Craig cut the Mastodons' deficit to 57-50 on a layup with 12:36 left to play, but Devin Royal and Thornton answered with back-to-back 3-pointers and the Buckeyes cruised from there.
Ohio State sank 34 of 51 shots overall (66.7%), including 16 of 28 from distance (57.1%). The Mastodons shot 44.1% overall and 22.7% from 3-point range (5 of 22).
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
