As Ohio struggled to maintain its second-half lead against Buffalo, two shadows from last season hovered over The Convo's floor.
Whether it was D.J. Cooper struggling to find support offensively or Ohio's post players struggling on defense, the second half showed that the Bobcats haven't figured out how to compensate for departed players Armon Bassett and Kenneth van Kempen.
There's no secret that (van Kempen) was a force at the end of last year
coach John Groce said. I had two coaches come up to me at (postseason award) meetings and tell me he was the best frontcourt defender in all the (Mid-American Conference) last season.
His void could be seen as Buffalo freshman forward Javon McCrea scored 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the second half. Against DeVaughn Washington, Ivo Baltic and Reggie Keely, McCrea constantly outfought the Bobcats near the basket to bank in his baskets.
Groce acknowledged van Kempen's underrated play, citing how he told his former center that it was ironic Ohio fans cheered for him when he made an appearance last December after being underappreciated during his career.
Right now we haven't been able to find that guy that has been able to limit front court players Groce said. We've had to scheme a little differently than last year because we had KVK down there.
Baltic said the post players need to react better when offenses score on them.
We just gotta get mentally tougher
Baltic said. We have to get angrier when we get scored on.
The second-half offensive problems aren't as much of a concern to Ohio. Buffalo limited Cooper with aggressive play and constant double teams, which caused the rest of the Bobcat offense to falter.
Ohio is tied for the lead in scoring with 73.8 points per game and has found various ways to score, whether it's from Cooper, outside shooters or post players.
But future teams could take note of what the Bulls did to stop the Bobcat offense. Cooper said the team is trying to compensate if other teams attempt to do so.
It hasn't hurt me
Cooper said of not having Bassett, who averaged 17.1 points per game last season. It's just an adjustment we got to make and find other ways to score.
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Ohio guard D.J. Cooper takes the ball down the court while being defended by University of Delaware forward Josh Brinkley at The Convo Nov. 13. Ohio won 88-69. (Maddie Meyer | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
