Nov. 15, 2011

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ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio Men's Basketball pulled off an 85-78 overtime win over the Lamar Cardinals after a nail-biting back-and-forth battle at home in the Convocation Center Tuesday night.

After an impressive overtime showing, junior D.J. Cooper finished the game with 21 points for the Bobcats as well as five rebounds, three assists and one steal. Freshman Stevie Taylor (Gahanna, Ohio) posted 14 points and made three of five attempts behind the arc. Junior Ivo Baltic (Kansas City, Mo.) added 14 more and tied junior Walter Offutt (Indianapolis, Ind.) for most rebounds with nine. Offutt also added 13 points.

Ohio sophomore Jon Smith (Columbus, Ohio) put the first points on the board with back-to-back free throws and Cooper kept it going with a jump shot with 18:17 on the clock. The Bobcats then went on a 7-0 run that ended with a free throw by Lamar. This sparked a 7-0 run by the Cardinals to put them in the lead ­­­­­12-11 with 11:45 left in the half.

Following the early lead, the teams traded leads four times throughout the first half with Ohio going into the locker room on top 34-29.

Ohio opened up the second half with a layup from Baltic to make the score 36-29. The Bobcats fought hard to keep the Cardinals at bay throughout the second half, but Lamar wouldn't go down without a fight. With nine personal fouls and 7:13 left on the clock, the Cardinals sent the Bobcats to the line multiple times to help Ohio maintain a narrow lead.

Following back-to-back free throws by Lamar, the Cardinals took the lead 62-60 with six minutes left to play. A free throw by Baltic and a layup by the Cardinals put Lamar up 64-61 with just over five minutes to play. That was when Cooper sunk a three-pointer to tie the game at 64 apiece and bring the momentum back to the Green and White. The teams traded points throughout the final minutes of regulation and settled for overtime with the scores deadlocked at 71.

Following a missed jump shot in the last second of regulation, Cooper set the pace in overtime with a three-point shot and paved the way to a ten-point advantage over the Cardinals. Lamar's Anthony Miles hit a three as the buzzer sounded, ultimately cutting the difference to seven at 85-78.  

While the Bobcats averaged 37.8 percent shooting, they were able to make 40 percent behind the arc and had an impressive showing from the foul line. Four players shot 100 percent at the line: Offutt (7-7), Smith (2-2), Keely (2-2) and Taylor (1-1). Cooper made seven of eight attempts to help the team average to a lofty 80.8 percent.

With the win, the Bobcats also increase their overtime win percentage to .586 (58-41) overall and .643 (27-15) at home.

Ohio will battle the Arkansas State Red Wolves at home in the Convocation Center on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m.