Bruce Thornton scored 20 points and Ohio State beat No. 19 Texas 80-72 in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas on Monday.

The Buckeyes never trailed and led by seven points by halftime. Texas cut the deficit to three points with 7:34 to play, then Ohio State went on a 10-1 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Devin Royal. Thornton then hit two shots and a free throw to extend the Buckeyes' lead to 12 points with 2:49 left, and they marched to the finish line.

Micah Parrish added 17 points for Ohio State, while Royal had 16 points and John Mobley Jr. scored 14 points off the bench. The Buckeyes' reserves made the difference, outscoring Texas' bench players 33-10.

Freshman Tre Johnson scored a game-high 29 points for the Longhorns, setting a new team mark for most points scored in a debut. Arthur Kaluma and Kadin Shedrick added 10 each for Texas.

The Longhorns announced shortly before the start of the game that guard Tramon Mark, expected to be one of the team's key players, would miss the opener due to a right ankle injury.

The Buckeyes jumped out early, scoring the first eight points of the contest in 1:28 of the first period. Texas recovered and got back into the game when Johnson's fast break layup cut the deficit to 14-11 with 15:12 left to play in the first half.

Ohio State kept its foot on the gas and extended its lead to 33-18 when Sean Stewart hit two free throws at the end of a 12-0 run at 6:24.

The Longhorns used their defense to provide an answer as their 10-0 run, capped by a putback dunk from Kaluma with 2:29 left in the half, cut Ohio State's lead to just five points. Royal's pull-up jumper with 1:24 remaining gave the Buckeyes a 38-31 lead at halftime.

Parrish and Mobley led Ohio State with nine points before halftime. Johnson led all scorers and scored 15 points in his first college half.

Mobley's second-chance 3-pointer five minutes into the second half extended Ohio State's lead back to 10 points. But the Longhorns rallied again, getting back within 57-52 with three free throws from Johnson with 9:42 left.

–Field level media