Ohio won its second game of December with a 93-57 rout against winless Maryland Eastern Shore.
Pregame
Following their fourth loss in the past five games Wednesday against Massachusetts, the Bobcats (7-4) will look to end their recent woes against winless Maryland Eastern Shore (0-10) on Saturday.
The Hawks are coming off a pair of road contests against Big East opponents Cincinnati and Connecuticut, in which they lost both games by an average of 33 points.
However, Ohio is also looking to snap a losing streak after dropping their last two.
"It's about who we want to be and who we want to play," Ohio coach Jim Christian said. "I don't care what their record is, anyone on our schedule can beat us if we don't play at our best."
The Bobcats are 7-1 this season in The Convo and are outscoring their opposition by an average of 18 points per game.
First Half
Ohio switched up the starting rotation for the first time this season. The starters are as follows: D.J. Cooper, Walter Offutt, Nick Kellogg, Ricardo Johnson and Reggie Keely.
Ricardo Johnson hit a three pointer to begin his first start as a Bobcat.
Maryland Eastern Shore and Ohio matched each other for a pair of shots from downtown, as Offutt hit one for the Bobcats.
But at the first media timeout, Ohio trailed 10-9 with 15:53 remaining, as both teams start the game 3-of-4 from the field. The Bobcats have yet to make a field goal from inside the three-point arc.
MES turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions, allowing the Bobcats to take a 15-10 lead following a lay-up from Keely before Travis Wilkins hit a three-pointer.
The Bobcats broke out for 12-point run following the first media timeout, led by five points from Wilkins. The 'Cats had made 8-of-10 shots in the first eight minutes, with six different players scoring points.
The Hawks were shooting more than 50 percent from the field, but committed nine turnovers in just the first 10 minutes of play.
Cooper fed Baltic for an alley-oop with 9:52 on the clock, allowing the Bobcats to remain ahead by 11 points at 25-14.
Maryland Eastern Shore had 11 turnovers and just 17 points through just the first 11 minutes. The Bobcats led 29-17 with 8:02 until the half.
Cooper led the Bobcats in minutes played, but did not score until six minutes remained until halftime, as he was busy facilitating some hot-hands. He had nine assists through just 12 minutes.
At that time, Wilkins led all scorers with 11 points on three makes from downtown, while Baltic and Offutt each have six points.
At a media timeout with 3:52 remaining, Ohio held a 38-23 lead, as Maryland Eastern Shore had already committed 14 turnovers. However, the Bobcats had only recorded four steals.
Led by Cooper, the Bobcats had assisted 13 of their first 14 makes from the field, as they were shooting 68 percent toward with two minutes to .
Following a three-pointer from Stevie Taylor with 1:34 remaining, only two of the 11 Bobcats to take the court have yet to score.
As he pump-faked a three-pointer, Cooper was fouled with 0.1 seconds remaining and converted on all three free throws to finish the half with five points, but no field goal makes.
Halftime: Ohio 51, Maryland Eastern Shore 32
The Bobcats were on fire from the field in the first half, surpassing their previous high of points in a half, which came in the season-opener against Portland.
Ohio finished the first half shooting 65 percent from the field, including going 8-of-16 from beyond the arc. Leading the way was Wilkins with 11 points, followed by Baltic with 10 and Offutt with nine points.
Maryland Eastern Shore committed 16 turnovers in the first half, compared to just five by Ohio. Because of poor ball handling, the Hawks shot 57 percent from the field, but were only able to make 11 shots.
Ohio's bench proved to be a significant source of offense in the first half, as the reserves combined to almost outscore Maryland Eastern Shore with 30 points.
Second Half
Keely recored a layup, followed by a pair of three throws and a dunk to begin the half, extending Ohio's lead to 23 points, as Maryland Eastern Shore's leading scorer Bell hit a jumper in between Keely's action to give him 14 in the game.
At the first media timeout of the half, Bobcats held a 59-34 point lead with almost 16 minutes yet to play.
Johnson much in the first half, which continued in the second, as he picked up four fouls by the 15-minute mark of the second half.
Cooper fed Baltic for yet another dunk, giving the senior guard 13 assists in his first 20 minutes of play. His career-high for assists in a game is 15.
Offutt then broke away for a fastbreak layup, giving him 15 points in the contest.
Ohio led 67-37 with 11:47 remaining at a media timeout, but the 'Cats had yet to make a three-pointer in the second half. The Hawks also struggled offensively, shooting just 2-of-6 at the time.
Maryland Eastern Shore hit the first shot from beyond the arc for either team in the half, as Bell leads the Hawks with 17 points. The Hawks began to find a rhytym on offense, but it was too little, too late.
Ricardo Johnson fouled out with 10 minutes remaining in his first start . He finished with three points and two assists.
Ohio was on pace to score 100 points, as the Bobcats led 75-42 with the final 10 minutes to play.
Five players have now reached double-digit scoring with Jon Smith scoring his tenth point of the game on a put-back layup.
Wilkins left the floor with an ankle injury with seven minutes on the clock, he had14 points in the game — his best game as a Bobcat.
With all starters out of the game, David McKinley got his first points knocking down a layup with 2:32 on the clock.
Kadeem Green was a key piece of the offense to end the game, finishing with 10 points and three rebounds in just 10 minutes off the bench to become the sixth player in double-digits.
FINAL: Ohio 93, Maryland Eastern Shore 57
Ohio won just its second game of December with a rout against winless Maryland Eastern Shore. Six different Bobcats finished with double-digit points, while D.J. Cooper added nine points and a season-high 14 assists. The Bobcats also tied a school-record of assists per game with 29 and finished with their highest point total of the season.
Statistics
Cooper: Nine points, 14 assists, two steals
Offutt: 15 points, five rebounds, one assist
Wilkins: 14 points, one assist, one rebound, set season-high for points
Keely: 12 points, three rebounds, one assist
Baltic: 12 points, six rebounds, two blocks, two steals, went 6-6 from field
Smith: 10 points, five rebounds, three blocks, two steals
Green: 10 points, three rebounds, just 10 minutes played
Bobcats made 57 percent of field goals and recorded 29 assists
———————
Bell: 20 points, three assists, one block
Mays: 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists
Spencer: Eight points, three rebounds, three assists
Hawks committed 24 turnovers, but shot 53 percent from the field.
Reactions
"I thought we played right the whole game and in this buisness you never go backwards and don't get to replay games, so you can't feel bad about it. You just have to move on. When we get our key guys playing well, we can be pretty good." — Christian, on coming out to snap a two-game losing streak.
"It's been tough, but we are sticking together and are going to fight through it. We know it's not the end of the world and things could be worse, but it tests our character and tonight, we all showed up to play." — Cooper, on how troubling it has been to lose four of five games entering Saturday.
"I don't ever look at the numbers, I'm being honest. I look at who played, how they played, what type of focus they played with and who was able to implement our gameplan. Numbers are just by-products of playing the right way." — Christian, on the personal and team-highs set in the win.
"It was good to have Ivo come off the bench and get a different view. I told him we've done it a million times with guys and I don't care who starts, it's all about how you produce when you're on the court and getting him to play with confidence." — Christian, on switching up the starting line-up and Baltic's response on the court.
"It felt good being able to get my guys open, and other people doing the same thing. Stevie did a great job of finding people late in the game, as well. Coach Christian has been doing a great job for me personally to get better reads, even though I was already pretty good." — Cooper, on the team 29 assists on 35 made buckets, including 14 assists of his own.
"Nick Kellogg was hurt, he went 0-for-6, because he hurt hand in practice yesterday and hopefully he'll be back. He played but it wasn't the same, he had trouble shooting the ball, so Travis and Stevie had to step up." — Christian, on Kellogg's unusual scoreless game, along with a break-out game from Wilkins.
Up Next
Ohio (8-4) will only play one game in the next two weeks, coming on the road against Oklahoma next Saturday. The Sooners (7-3) have lost two of their last three games, but have 11 days between games to prepare for the Bobcats. Ohio has yet to win a game away from The Convo, while Oklahoma's only home loss came to nationally-ranked Gonzaga.
cl027410@ohiou.edu
