Ohio State’s 15-0 run too much for UCLA to overcome
John Mobley Jr. scored a career-high 28 points as Ohio State pulled away from UCLA for an 86-74 victory in Columbus on Saturday afternoon.
Mobley keyed a 15-0 run with 3-pointers that bracketed the end of the first half and the start of the second to put the Buckeyes (12-5, 4-3 Big Ten) ahead 54-36.
He popped a 30-foot 3-pointer with two seconds left for a 42-36 halftime lead. It was his fourth make in eight tries from beyond the arc, and he came out firing after the break as the Buckeyes held the Bruins scoreless for nearly four minutes.
After Eric Dailey Jr. broke the skid, the Bruins (12-6, 4-3) ran off seven unanswered points but Ohio State responded with eight straight to quell the comeback.
Mobley surpassed his previous best of 26 points with the first of two free throws with 5:02 to play.
Ohio State, which shot 52.8% from the floor, also got 22 points from Devin Royal while Bruce Thornton had 21.
Ohio State's Christoph Tilly, who was questionable after receiving a knock to the head against Washington on Sunday, scored six in 32 minutes.
Tyler Bilodeau led the Bruins with 30 points, Donovan Dent scored 13 and Dailey had 12.
Bilodeau had 15 first-half points for the Bruins, who recovered from missing their first four shots to make 50% of their field goals through 20 minutes. The visitors shot 40.3% from the field overall.
Dailey missed UCLA's first free throw which would have tied at 33 with 2:05 left after the Bruins went 21-for-21 from the line in a win against Penn State on Wednesday. Ohio State then scored the next four points.
The Bruins made 15 of 19 foul shots.
UCLA played its fourth straight game without second-leading scorer Skyy Clark (13.5 points per game) since he sustained a hamstring injury against Iowa on Jan. 3.
The Bruins are 2-2 in his absence.
Ohio State's latest addition, 25-year-old sixth-year forward Donovan "Puff" Johnson, was not available after receiving a temporary restraining order against the NCAA on Friday allowing him eligibility to play for the Buckeyes this season.
Johnson had previously been denied a medical hardship waiver after missing 54 games in his career at Penn State and North Carolina. He enrolled at Ohio State last July.