Pregame
Ohio takes the court against the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Friday in its second game of the season.
The Bobcats won their season-opener against Portland, while the Seahawks split their season's first two games, falling to Richmond Tuesday after besting UNC-Asheville in their first game of the year.
Ohio's defensive game plan centers around limiting the opportunities of its opponents' big men, as they are UNCW's bread and butter. Half of the Seahawks' roster is listed as six-foot-eight or taller.
Ohio redshirt senior guard Walter Offutt, who "banged up" his ankle against Portland Saturday, is expected to play, while junior forward T.J. Hall did not dress for the Bobcats' second round of pregame warmups because of an injured left knee. He had surgery on his right knee in May.
Senior forward Keith Rendleman has led the Seahawks this season, averaging 14 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, while sophomore forward Cedrick Williams has averaged 9.5 points and 10 rebounds on the year. No other UNCW player averages double digits in either category.
Ohio guards D.J. Cooper, a senior, and Nick Kellogg, a junior, both poured in 18 points in the Bobcats' season-opener.
The Bobcats will look to best UNCW's big men by making them get up and down the court quickly and keeping them off the offensive glass, Ohio coach Jim Christian said.
Look back at the Bobcats' season-opener, a 29-point win against Portland, here.
Follow The Post Sports and basketball beat reporter Jim Ryan on Twitter for game updates.
First Half
Ohio's starters are as follows: Senior guard D.J. Cooper, redshirt senior guard Walter Offutt, junior guard Nick Kellogg, senior forward Ivo Baltic and redshirt junior forward Jon Smith.
The Bobcats started off on the right foot, escaping to an 8-0 lead within the first 1:40 of gameplay.
Kellogg opened the game by knocking down a three-pointer from the right corner, and then Offutt and Baltic finished a pair of fast-break layups. Offutt was also fouled on the play.
Offutt continued the run with a three-pointer from the right wing on Ohio's ensuing trip down the floor, capitalizing on a Cooper steal on the opposite end of the court.
Ohio junior guard Travis Wilkins became the first Bobcat to sub in to the game during the following media timeout, and senior forward Reggie Keely checked in at the next stoppage of play.
Rendleman supplied the Seahwaks with a three-pointer after the timeout, putting them on the scoreboard for the first time.
It didn't take long for Keely to make his mark, as he took a feed from the Bobcats' side of the court and drove for a dunk on his touch.
Offutt then hit his second three of the game to bring the Bobcats' lead to 18-3 with less than 14 minutes remaining in the half.
Christian looked deep into his bench early on, using eight players before the 12-minute mark in the first half, as sophomore guard Stevie Taylor and junior guard Ricardo Johnson checked in then.
Johnson made his way to the charity stripe on his first touch, where he drove the basket hard, forcing a foul. Although he missed both shots, Smith's defender failed to box him out, and he grabbed the rebound and slammed it home for his first points of the evening.
UNCW shyed away from pushing the ball midway through the first half, deciding instead to revert to the post game. That proved more successful for the Seahawks, as they were able to distribute the ball to their guards for relatively open attempts from beyond the arc.
Their change of pace didn't change much in terms of scoring margin, as the Seahawks trailed 31-15 at the six-minute mark.
Keely, who was banged up on an interior play with about seven minutes remaining in the half, made a quick pit stop in Ohio's locker room before rejoining the Bobcats, following his fall.
The Seahawks' Dylan Sherwood, a redshirt freshman forward, took a hard fall shortly thereafter, too, falling past the row of baseline photographers and into the cheerleaders after blocking a Taylor layup attempt from behind.
The Bobcats' final points of the half came on a deep corner two from Baltic with 3:41 remaining and a pair of Kellogg free throws soon thereafter.
Halftime: Ohio 37, UNCW 17
The Bobcats clearly dominated the first half of play, winninng or tying every major statistical category at the break with the exclusion of blocks and bench points, in which UNCW doubled Ohio's four-point output.
UNCW committed 17 turnovers in the first half, 10 of which were attributed to Ohio steals.
The Bobcats also distributed the ball well, racking up nine assists to the Seahawks' three.
Cooper attempted only two shots in the first half, but accounted for two thirds of the Bobcats' assists and three steals.
Baltic led the way for the Bobcats offensively, totaling 10 points on five-of-seven from the field. Offutt also showed he was far from banged up, putting home nine points and grabbing three rebounds in 14 minutes of play.
Second Half
The Bobcats once again began the half on a positive note, forcing the Seahawks to a shot clock violation before a pretty reverse layup from Baltic on their first possession.
Offutt converted a pretty steal-and-layup combination on the Seahawks' third possession of the half, throwing the UNCW defender for a loop with a slick stop-and-go stutter step play while driving through the paint.
Smith continued the outpouring of offense with an up-and-under layup two minutes later, marking Ohio's next highlight.
Taylor stripped a driving player inside the 12-minute mark, and fed Keely for a striding dunk, in which he avoided a contending UNCW defender.
At that point, Ohio led 53-26 and had forced 21 turnovers.
Rendleman became the first UNCW player to reach double digits in the points column when he cashed in a pair of free throws with 10 minutes remaining in the contest.
Keely made good of a busted full-court press two possessions later, emphatically jamming a two-hander through the hoop after a feed from Offutt near mid-court.
On the next trip down the floor, Kellogg extended the Bobcats' lead to 24 points on a three-pointer from the left corner.
Smith made his strongest play of the game with 6:47 remaining in the game, taking a sweet spin move to the hoop and finishing with a bucket and a foul. He missed the extra opportunity, however.
The play put Ohio ahead 62-43 with six minutes left.
Johnson was able to recover his own mishandle on the following play, losing the ball but making a recovery in time to put home a pair of points.
Baltic made it three scoring plays on as many consecutive drives, scoring a running two-handed dunk on the Bobcats' next trip down the floor.
After Keely was blocked behind on the Bobcats' ensuing drive, Cooper was able to convert a steal into another stop-and-go layup in the lane. Baltic then did the same, except finishing with a dunk to put Ohio past the 70-point plateau.
Keely converted a three-point play in the post on the Bobcats' next possession, furthering Ohio's offensive onslaught.
Much to the delight of the O Zone, Ohio finished the game with three straight three-pointers, one apiece from senior guard David McKinley, redshirt junior guard Nick Goff and Johnson.
Final: Ohio 85, UNCW 47
The Bobcats' late-game flurry summed up what was an overwhelmingly positive performance. Christian said after the game that he was pleased with the Bobcats' distribution, interior presence and ability to keep their foot on the gas as time ticked off the clock.
Statistics
Baltic: 10-for-12 shooting, 20 points, six rebounds, four steals, 32 minutes
Keely: 14 points, seven rebounds
Offutt: 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals
Kellogg: 10 points, 2-for-3 from three
Cooper: Nine points, 14 assists, four steals
Johnson: Seven points, three rebounds
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Rendleman: Six-for-seven shooting, 17 points, seven rebounds, two blocks
Ponder: Seven points, seven turnovers
Milson: Five points, three rebounds
Sherwood: Five points, one rebound
Reactions
"Initially, starting the game, we have certain plays that we got called. But I think coach would rather want us to get the rebound and push the ball, get the ball to (Cooper,) find open guys and share the ball. I think we did that from the start of the game." — Offutt, on Ohio's 8-0 run to begin the game
"It was a huge emphasis starting Monday. We showed rebounding clips of those two guys… It was a major goal for us today not to outrebound them, but we wanted to get at least 72 percent of the defensive rebounds, and we exceeded that." — Christian, on outrebounding against the Seahawks' big men
"Coach has been on the big guys all year just to run the floor, and my job is to find them. I’ve just been trying to find them in transition." — Cooper, on moving the ball
"When we have posts running and D.J. with the ball in the open floor, he’s going to find the right guy. Just the way he plays should encourage guys to run harder. I think we did that. Our wings ran hard, our post players ran hard, and because of it you’re able to put them back on their heels so they’re not able to go to the board as hard as they usually do because they have to get back … We’ve been talking about it since I got here. That’s how we want to attack. That’s how we want to play." — Christian on Cooper's distribution, Ohio's pace of play
"He came out and played real confident. He didn’t play his best game last week and he bounced back tonight." — Cooper, on Baltic's play
"You try to get better every game and find something you need to work on. With coach Christian, it’s mostly been rebounding the ball. He thinks as long as you rebound the ball you have a chance in every game. As long as you’re rebounding the ball at the defensive end, you’re getting stops, and (if you’re) outrebounding on the offensive end you’re getting extra baskets for your team. We’re going to shoot a good percentage." — Offutt, on improving every game
"I’m at practice every day, so I’m not surprised that (McKinley) is going to hit an open three. I know Goff’s going to hit an open three. I know those guys are going to come in and play the right way. It’s the same thing with our bench guys — the guys that come off and bring the energy: Stevie, Ricardo and Travis." — Christian, on the Bobcats' bench players' performance
"We practice hard, but as a player, you love to compete and go out there and play back-to-back games as long as you’re taking care of your body." — Cooper, on Ohio's Sunday game against Wofford
Twitter Notes
Ohio gains momentum with finish...
Points off turnovers are key...
Baltic settled in to his own...
Ohio actually likes quick turnarounds...
Up Next
Ohio returns to The Convo Sunday for a 2 p.m. tipoff against Wofford. The Terriers (1-2) fell to Ball State 66-61 Friday.
