Dec. 15, 2010
Box Score | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio placed six players in double figures as it recorded its second highest-scoring game of the season with an 87-58 win over St. Francis (PA) on Wednesday evening. The 29-point margin was the largest of the season for the Bobcats (6-4) who dominated the Red Flash (2-8).
Ohio opened the game with an 8-0 behind consecutive three-pointers by Tommy Freeman and a layup by DeVaughn Washington. However, Umar Shannon scored the first 11 Red Flash points and gave the visitors a one-point lead before a three-pointer by Nick Kellogg pushed the `Cats in front 13-11. The `Cats bottled Shannon up for the rest of the game, allowing him only five points after his initial outburst.
Freeman finished with 15 points, all in the first half, and hit his first five three-point attempts. The senior also added a season-best four assists. Washington had another solid outing, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes, while Kellogg added 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting, 3 of 4 beyond the arc.
The score was tied 15-15 before D.J. Cooper knocked down his first points of the night on a corner three with 10:51 remaining the first half. Freeman found the same corner on the next possession for his third triple and hit another to push the lead to 24-15. The run extended itself to 12-0 on an old-fashioned three-point play from Kellogg that was created by a steal off an inbounds pass.
After Reggie Keely drew an offensive foul on the defensive end, Cooper kissed one of the glass to push the lead back up to double figures at 31-20. That started a 22-1 Bobcat run that also featured threes from Kellogg, T.J. Hall and Freeman, consecutive conversions in the paint by Ivo Baltic, layups from Hall and Adetunji Adedipe and a baseline jumper from Washington. In all, seven players scored during the Bobcat run.
Hall contributed his second double-digit scoring game of the season, finishing with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. Baltic also found his way into double figures with 10 points and five rebounds. Adedipe surpassed his career-high which had stood for over two years, scoring six points on 3 of 4 shooting and snatching three rebounds.
Ohio led 51-25 at the intermission as eight different players found the scoring column. The Bobcats used size (21-6, points in the paint), speed (23-11, points off turnovers, 15-3 second chance points) and depth (22-5, bench points) to their advantage during the first 20 minutes with Coach Groce shuttling 11 players in and out of the lineup.
Cooper started the second half with 10-straight points but the Red Flash scored 11 of their own before Groce made wholesale changes to the lineup. The five new players kept the Red Flash from scoring a field goal for four minutes and added nine points to the Bobcat advantage, pushing the lead to 70-36 with 11:47 remaining.
Cooper finished with a team-high 19 points, game-high five assists and four rebounds for the Green & White. He was matched in points by St. Francis' Will Felder who recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bobcats shot 52.5 percent in the game, and made 15 of 29 three-point field goal attempts (51.7). The 15 three-pointers made were the most in a game since the single-game best of 20 set in a contest against Duquesne on January 7, 2004. Ohio also had a 43-27 advantage on the glass, its largest difference of the 2010-11 season. Ohio finished with large advantages in the paint (31-12), points off offensive rebounds (24-8) and bench production (40-17).
The Bobcats take to the court again on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. against St. Bonaventure in the Reilly Center.
