The Ohio State men’s basketball team took their mostly new roster on the road for a game against the #19-ranked Texas Longhorns. The venue was T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in the Hall of Fame Series. Jake Diebler began his first full year as the Buckeyes head coach after going 6-2 at the end of last season with an interim tag.

Ohio State led wire-to-wire and finished with an 80-72 win. The Buckeyes were paced by one of the few holdovers from last year’s squad, Bruce Thornton, who scored 20 points, with five rebounds and five assists. Micah Parrish, a transfer from San Diego State, added 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

The Bucks got big games off the bench from Devin Royal, a Pickerington Central grad, and John Mobley Jr., who grew up in Reynoldsburg. Royal scored 16 on 7-11 shooting. Mobley Jr., who graduated from Wasatch Academy in Utah, added 14 points, going 4-4 from outside the arc and 2-2 at the free-throw line.

Texas was led by freshman phenom Tre Johnson, who scored 29 points. A native of Garland, Tex., Johnson was the fifth-ranked player nationally coming out of Missouri’s Link Academy. Kadin Shedrick and Chendall Weaver each added 10 points for the Longhorns.

The Buckeyes return home to play the Youngstown State Penguins next Monday at 6:00 p.m. The Penguins open their season at Chicago State Saturday.