Jim Christian preached the entire offseason about the depth of this season’s Ohio squad.
The roster-wide productivity couldn’t have been more prevalent during Saturday’s victory 75-64 against Northern Iowa, as four Bobcat newcomers played their first game and scored a combined thirty points.
After the first two minutes, Ohio (1-0) did not trail, as the Bobcats went into halftime with a 39-32 lead.
While the Panthers came close to striking distance multiple times in the contest, they were never able to close the gap and make a big run.
Christian, Ohio’s second-year coach, said he was proud of how his team responded when the Panthers made runs, but the Bobcats never relinquished the lead.
“We played a great team to open up the year,” Christian said. “The one thing I really wanted to see our team respond to was when teams make their runs — which you know good teams are going to do — how do you respond? I thought that, led by our seniors, we responded unbelievably well.”
The Bobcats rotated players on the court often and wore out the Panthers with their athleticism, while Ohio only committed six turnovers.
Junior forward Maurice Ndour led all scorers with 20 points and five rebounds during the first NCAA Division I game of his career. He was one of four Bobcats that finished in double figures.
“I didn’t even know I had 20 (points),” Ndour said. “I wasn’t nervous at all. I was really excited for my first college basketball game.”
Ndour showed his versatility, as he not only scores from the block but also made a pair of three-pointers.
Senior guard Ricardo Johnson finished with 14 points, while senior guard Nick Kellogg chipped in 16 and junior guard Stevie Taylor added 10.
Johnson said the Bobcats wanted to come out firing and play with intensity.
“We just wanted to play hard, play aggressive and take what the defense gives us,” Johnson said. “It was what we talked about in practice. ‘Play with energy. Play with energy.’ And it showed on the court.”
Ohio was able to keep the momentum in its favor, as the Bobcats created several looks for Kellogg, who converted two trifectas in the second half. He finished with 16 points, including 14 after halftime.
The Bobcats were particularly strong down low, as Ohio scored 26 points in the paint offensively and swarmed the Panthers defensively, converting 18 points off 12 Panther turnovers.
Ohio also limited Northern Iowa to 43.5 percent shooting and held preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference selection Seth Tuttle to just six points.
Deon Mitchell led Northern Iowa with 18 points and Chip Rank added 14 points.
“We’re challenging ourselves with our schedule,” Kellogg said. “We believe we have potential, so our goal is just to get better each and every day. This was a good game to build off of, on our home court.”
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