Ohio moved to 10-5 on the year with an 86-68 win against Buffalo Wednesday at The Convo. Follow our chronological coverage of the win below.
Pregame
Although Ohio has won four Mid-American Conference titles in the past 20 years, it has claimed only one regular-season championship, in 1994.
The Bobcats posted a 14-4 conference record that season, and went on to take the MAC Tournament crown as well.
This year's team will look to start its conference slate similarly against Buffalo, which it beat in each of its three occasions last season.
The Bulls (5-9) have a significantly different look than they did in 2012 because of the departure of seniors Mitchell Watt, a forward and 2012 MAC player of the year, and Zach Filzen, a guard. Both players averaged more than 12 points per game.
Returning for Buffalo is team leader Javon McCrea, who averages a team-high 16 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
He and fellow forward Will Regan, a sophomore, shoot better than 50 percent from the field.
The Bobcats (9-5) are fresh off a 37-point win against Marshall, and will look to take that momentum into conference play.
Junior guard Travis Wilkins will be sitting the bench for the third straight game because of a sprained ankle.
Ohio coach Jim Christian said its imperative for the Bobcats to enter MAC play on a high note.
“The only thing coming out of non-conference that we haven’t done is raise up and play harder (in) bigger games for 40 minutes,” he said. “It’s the only thing. Everything else is the same.”
Look back at the Bobcats' last game, a 37-point win against Marshall, here. Read beat reporter Jim Ryan's game preview here. Follow him and The Post Sports on Twitter for game updates.
First Half
Ohio's starting lineup is as follows, Cooper, redshirt senior guard Walter Offutt, junior guard Nick Kellogg and senior forwards Ivo Baltic and Reggie Keely.
The Bobcats began the game by taking the tip and getting the ball to Keely in the post early, where he converted on an open look.
The Bulls bounced back, and took a lead into the half's 16-minute mark, after which Keely and Baltic converted dunks and Cooper drained a three to put the Bobcats ahead 11-8.
Keely converted a pair of foul shots to extend the Bobcats' lead on their next possession, making good of a pretty post feed from Baltic.
At that point, Ohio redshirt junior forward Jon Smith made his first appearance in the game, as did junior guard Ricardo Johnson.
Junior forward T.J. Hall checked in soon thereafter.
Smith made one of two free throws after getting fouled on his first touch, and Johnson upped the Bobcats' lead to 16-12 at the 13-minute mark with a mid-range two.
The Bobcats then converted a pair of fast-break opportunities made possible by turnovers to bring their lead to eight points.
With 12 minutes remaining in the half, the Bulls had committed seven turnovers.
McCrea had already made his presence known, though, as he had six points to that juncture.
Over the next two minutes the Bulls stormed back with seven points — including a long three from Tony Watson — to close Ohio's lead to one.
Ohio punched back in the form of a transition dunk from Baltic, pair of threes from Cooper and layups from Keely and Offutt to bring the score to 32-22 with six minutes left in the half.
Keely lofted a back-to-the-basket layup, and Baltic hit a jumper in transition to further extend Ohio's lead inside six minutes left in the half.
Offutt brought the Bobcats' lead to 16 with four minutes remaining, forcing a turnover and dishing to a wide-open Cooper in transition for two easy points.
Although McCrea fired back with a two in the paint, Keely hit a 15-foot jumper and Kellogg downed a three to continue the Bobcats' offensive onslaught inside the three-minute mark.
After trading layups with the Bulls, Cooper knocked down his fourth three of the opening quarter with less than a minute on the clock. He was then fouled coming down the court with five seconds remaining, and made both shots.
Halftime: Ohio 53, Buffalo 31
Cooper led the Bobcats at half with 18 points, 12 of which were a result of his perfect three-point shooting, and five assists.
Keely had 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and Baltic had eight on 4-of-6 from the floor.
The Bobcats shot 64.5 percent in the first half, as opposed to the Bulls' 40 percent, and forced their opponent to commit 10 turnovers, from which they scored 14 points.
Rebounding margin, a usual area of concern for Ohio, was knotted at the half, as both teams recorded 16 in the opening stanza.
Second Half
After empty trips down the floor for both teams, Regan broke the ice for the Bulls, taking a pretty dish in the paint off the glass and in for two points.
Keely broke the ice for the Bobcats with a pair of free throw makes inside the 18-minute mark, and made one of two on Ohio's next trip down the floor, where he was fed in transition by Cooper.
He was the only Bobcat to score in the second half at the 15:28 mark, pouring in six on three trips to the line and a dunk on a feed from Cooper.
The Bobcats led 59-35 at that point.
A layup from Hall and a very deep three-pointer from Cooper pushed Ohio's lead to 28 points with 13:38 remaining.
Hall hit a three coming out of a Buffalo timeout to further extend the Bobcats' point total.
Redshirt sophomore forward Kadeem Green checked in soon thereafter for Ohio.
Sophomore guard Stevie Taylor supplied a spark off the bench for the Bobcats down the stretch, picking up a loose ball and going the length of the court for two points and knocking down a three.
The Bobcats continued to cruise through the second half, keeping their lead steady through the 5:34 mark, leading into which Kellogg and Buffalo's Richie Sebuharara traded three-pointers.
After only four minutes of playing time, in which he scored six points, Green fouled out, leading Christian to work with Smith for the remainder of the game.
He finished the game on a high note, playing well in the paint and finishing off a shot from Taylor with a put-back slam nearing the two-minute mark.
Both teams looked sloppy in the waning minutes, as Ohio waltzed to 1-0 in conference play.
Final: Ohio 86, Buffalo 68
Ohio controlled the pace throughout the game, and gave Buffalo little chance to make its mark at any point.
The Bulls were without the services of junior guard Jarod Oldham, who has played in only 11 games this year because of a broken left wrist.
Ohio converted the Bulls' 17 turnovers into 21 points, and shot 51 percent the field. The Bobcats also hit half their 18 three-point attempts.
Statistics
Cooper: 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting, seven assists, three rebounds
Keely: Career-high 19 points, five rebounds, two assists
Baltic: Eight points (all in the first half) on four-of-six shooting, three rebounds
Smith: Seven points, seven rebounds
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McCrea: 13 points, six rebounds
Skeete: 13 points, four rebounds
Regan: 11 points, six rebounds
Reactions
"They have to play through some mistakes, they have to stop fouling and get stops. It’s going to take everybody to do it. Sometimes I get upset with those guys coming off the bench because they can’t drop, and they won’t, and we’re going to be on them until they get better." — Christian, on Ohio's bench play
"They’re a tough team to guard because they move the ball so well within their offense … It was a ball pressure-type game, and I thought our perimeter guys that started the game did a great job pressuring the basketball." — Christian, on Ohio's defense
"He’s really starting to figure out how to play down in the post. He wants the ball, he’s getting to good spots — playing with a little more strength down there — and it’s starting to show." — Christian, on Keely's performance
"He’s a great player. We had to go at him a little bit to start the game, and the goal was trying to get him in some foul trouble. The best way to guard him is to put him on the bench because he’s so hard to handle one-on-one. They’re a difficult team to double because the way they’re spaced." — Christian, on defending McCrea
"It’s pretty much trusting myself and understanding you’re always going to be open when you’re playing with a point guard like Coop. I just stay ready for the ball in any situation when I know he has the ball." — Keely, on his breakout performance
Twitter Notes
Keely out-ran McCrea, and it showed in the scoring column...
With two more helpers, Cooper will break into the NCAA all-time top 25...
Baltic looked more willing to attack the rim in the first half...
Buffalo could really use Oldham back in its lineup...
Up Next
Ohio (10-5) will make the trip to Kalamazoo, MI Saturday for its second showdown of its MAC campaign, where it will take on Western Michigan.
The Broncos fell to Akron by 23 points in their conference-opener Wednesday, and hold an 8-6 overall record.
