COLUMBUS — There were 53.7 seconds left in the first half when Colin White inbounded to Bruce Thornton. There were 52.4 seconds left when Thornton gathered the ball and started to dribble. There were 49 seconds left when Thornton jogged across the half-court line.
The sellout crowd inside The Schottenstein Center for Saturday’s game between Ohio State and Indiana started chanting Thornton’s name long before the play developed. Thornton dribbled to the left wing. Amare Bynum was positioned to his right, ready to set a screen. Devin Royal came up from the corner to Thornton’s left and bluffed a screen for the ballhandler.
There were 46.5 seconds on the clock when Thornton rocked into a between-the-legs, step-back dribble that sent his defender, Indiana’s Conor Enright, a bit of pest all night, shuffling toward the corner. There were 45.7 seconds on the clock when Thornton pulled, rising up over Enright’s outstretched left hand as everyone in the building likewise extended their arms over their heads, falling into a hushed, brief, pregnant pause, wondering if this shot would be history.
There were 44.2 seconds on the clock when Thornton’s 3-point attempt snapped the net.
Thornton needed 12 points against the Hoosiers to become Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer. He got them all in the first half. He finished with a game-high 25. Ohio State beat Indiana, 91-78. The Buckeyes are going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. Thornton is going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his career.
“I got both (the record and the tournament bid) in one night,” Thornton said. “What else can I ask for?”