Jan. 6, 2010
Final Stats
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.-Ohio’s Armon Bassett hit a 3-pointer from the corner as time expired to give visiting Ohio a 63-62 victory over IUPUI Wednesday evening at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Bobcats improved to 9-5 overall, while the Jaguars dropped to 10-7.
Bassett scored 14 points, while Jay Kinney had 12 and three steals. Ivo Baltic had a nice all-around game with eight points, seven boards, three assists and three steals to go along with Reggie Keely’s eight points (4-4 FG) and three blocks. D.J. Cooper, the MAC’s leader in assists, contributed nine helpers, including the one that set up Bassett’s game-winning shot.
Robert Glenn powered the Jaguars with 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, but was also forced into eight turnovers by the stingy Bobcat defense. Billy Pettiford was another standout for the hosts, posting nine points, seven rebounds, nine assists, three blocks and three steals. Alex Young chipped in 14 points as well.
Ohio bucked a recent trend by jumping out to a lead in this game, going up by a nine (13-4) nine minutes, 53 seconds into the contest on a Keely jumper in the paint with 10:07 left in the first half. The Jaguars fought back though and evened the score by halftime at 21.
The second half was a grind for both teams as neither squad could wrest control of the game. IUPUI appeared to have things in hand when it claimed a seven-point lead (59-52) lead, courtesy of a three-point play by Greg Rice with 3:35 left. However, the Bobcats finished the contest with an 11-3 run to emerge victorious.
Facing a five-point deficit with 56 seconds left, Ohio got a dunk from Baltic combined with a steal and two Kinney free throws to pull to within one with 32 seconds remaining. The two teams then traded empty possessions until Pettiford made the second of two free throws with four seconds left. The Bobcats then inbounded the ball to Cooper who drove the length of the floor, drew the Jaguar defense and then dished to Bassett in the corner for the game’s final bucket.
Ohio shot 41.4 percent (24-58) compared to 47.9 percent (23-48) for IUPUI. The Bobcats won the rebounding battle 33-30, committed fewer turnovers (15-19) and had more steals (12-7).
Ohio will be back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. against Kent State in its MAC opener. The game will be the front end of a doubleheader with the Bobcat women, who will host Bowling Green at 4:30 p.m. Ohio fans will also be treated to John Casey’s Hyperdogs, who will perform during halftime of both games. Hyperdogs have performed at over 50 major sporting events in the last 10 years and trainer John Casey has been traveling with his pack of canines since 1996. These same dogs have been on ESPN, Animal Planet and Fox and Friends, to name a few.
