Chris Holtmann, Bruce Thornton reflect on Ohio State surviving 'rock fight' vs. UCLA

Ohio State outscored and out-gutted UCLA in the second half of the opener in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday, besting the future Big Ten opponent, 67-60. After the hard-earned win, Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann and star sophomore guard Bruce Thornton reflected on the victory.

For Thornton, it was extra meaningful, as the Buckeyes were in Atlanta, not too far from his hometown of Alpharetta, Georgia. Thornton finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists, the latter two being team highs.

“Just my teammates — we prepped the whole week, coming from Penn State and we just looked in. It was coming back home for me. If we’re going to do anything, let’s get the dub back home. So I’m really proud of my teammates, Buckeye nation, and I’m glad we got the win,” Thornton said to CBS Sports’ Jenny Dell.

And Holtmann heaped praise on Thornton for leading the Buckeyes through the doldrums of scoring and intense defense from the Bruins.

In a game that Ohio State trailed by one at half where both teams combined for 45 points, every possession increased in value and when push came to shove, the Buckeyes outscored their opponents by eight in the second half, surviving what Holtmann called a “rock fight.”

“It’s all led by this guy. It’s all led by him. He leads in practice every day. I’m really proud of him. They just found a way. We said it was going to be a rock fight, it was. But when you have dudes like this, you feel pretty good as a coach,” Holtmann said, standing next to Thornton.

And in a game Holtmann said would be all about toughness, Dell had some humor, too, handing him a whiteboard with a message across the top. Holtmann had earlier admitted to Dell that he had punched a clipboard earlier in the game, causing it to cut his hand, where he was sporting a bandaid.

The message on the whiteboard?

“Don’t hurt me.”

After the win, Holtmann can probably refrain.

Holtman recently praised the depth of his roster

After getting a win over Miami (OH), Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann shared that he’s happy with the team’s current depth.

Throughout much of the first half, Holtmann played several of his bench players and they were able to step up to the task. It was an effort that helped the Buckeyes jump out to a big early lead.

“I thought our bench was good tonight,” Chris Holtmann said. “I did, I thought our bench was really good.”

One of the players coming off the bench who Chris Holtmann praised in particular was Devin Royal. Against Miami (OH), Royal managed to play 11 minutes, snagging four rebounds, three points, and an assist.

“I thought Devin continues to grow. It’s what young players have to do. They have to grow in the minutes that are given to them and they’ve got to grow in practice, and I think Devin’s gotten a little bit better in practice. I can’t emphasize that enough. You hear it all the time, that kid’s a gamer. Well, I’d like to see him be a gamer in practice first and Devin has done that, and to his credit, I think as a byproduct of that is he’s gotten better. He’s produced in games. Now, he’s got to foul less. His technique has to get better. Normal freshmen stuff, but I thought he was good.”