Ohio closed out its early non-conference slate with a 37-point win against Marshall Saturday, moving its record to 9-5 overall heading into Mid-American Conference play. Read our chronological coverage of the win below.
Pregame
It was a long December for Ohio, as it fell in five of its seven constests during the final month of the year after going undefeated in November.
The Bobcats (8-5) have yet to reach for what junior guard Nick Kellogg earlier labeled their "panic button," but have plenty to correct in order to enter Mid-American Conference play on a positive note against Buffalo Wednesday.
The Thundering Herd (7-7) will likely be without the services of floor general DeAndre Kane, a junior guard who has been out of the lineup for five games because of a hand injury.
In his absence, they are led by a pair of 14-point scorers — juniors Elijah Pittman, a forward, and D.D Scarver, a guard — to generate the bulk of their offense.
Marshall is among the nation's best on the boards, as its 15.5 offensive rebounds rank eighth in the country. The Thundering Herd ranks 22nd in the country in total grabs.
Ohio is sixth in the nation in assists, with an average of 18.4 dishes per game — more than half of which are from senior guard D.J. Cooper, whose 7.8 per game ranks fourth in the country.
The Bobcats lead the teams' all-time series by a seven-game margin, and have won both of their most recent two meetings with the Thundering Herd.
Look back at the Bobcats' last game, an 11-point loss to Oklahoma, here. Read beat reporter Jim Ryan's game preview here. Follow him and The Post Sports on Twitter for game updates.
First Half
Ohio's starting lineup is as follows, Cooper, redshirt senior guard Walter Offutt, junior guard Nick Kellogg and senior forwards Ivo Baltic and Reggie Keely.
Kane checked into the game early as a reserve. The Thundering Herd had lost three of the five games they played in his absence.
Before even hitting the first media timeout, the Bobcats led the Thundering Herd 15-4, propelled by a three to open the game from Nick Kellogg and six points from Baltic.
He extended the Bobcats after the first media timeout, taking the inbound pass from Cooper quickly to the hoop, where he slammed home a two-hander.
Ohio sophomore guard Stevie Taylor and junior guard Ricardo Johnson checked in at that point.
After a second three from Kellogg, redshirt junior forward Jon Smith and junior guard T.J. Hall made their first appearances in the game, though Hall quickly turned the ball over.
Hall then knocked down a three-pointer, and Smith finished off a pretty dunk to bring the score to 25-12.
On the Bobcats' next trip down the floor, Kellogg knocked down his third three in four attempts to lengthen their lead. Then Johnson took a dish from Cooper — his fourth straight — for a layup in the lane.
The score read 30-12 with 10:28 to play in the first half.
Ohio continued its run, upping the score to 36-12 by the nine-minute mark with dunks from Keely and Baltic, as well as a streaking layup from Cooper.
Cooper swished a three, Ohio's fifth on the day, to bring the Bobcats' total to 39 with eight minutes to play in the half. At that point, Ohio was 15-for-17 from the floor.
The Thundering Herd then implimented a full-court press and was able to produce a turnover and six points inside the seven-minute mark.
The Bobcats' lead was upped to 28 after four free throws stemming from a Kellogg drive, foul and technical foul from Marshall coach Tom Herrion.
Redshirt sophomore forward Kadeem Green checked in for the first time with less than five minutes remaining in the half.
Less than a minute later, Cooper notched his 12th assist of the outing with a backdoor dish to a driving Kellogg to bring the score to 48-21.
The Bobcats continued to control the game through the final four minutes of the game, extending their lead to 32 to close the half.
Halftime: Ohio 56, Marshall 24
After not scoring for two games, Kellogg took over in the first half for the Bobcats, netting 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
His efforts were made possible by the savvy passing from Cooper, who finished the half with 13 assists and eight points of his own.
Baltic had his best first half in recent memory, going five-for-five for 10 points, pulling down four rebounds, gathering two steals and dishing as many assists.
Ohio hit 20 of its 27 shot attempts in the first half, as opposed to Marshall's 9-of-21 performance.
More importantly for Ohio, it scored 39 points off the Thundering Herd's 19 turnovers.
Scarver was Marshall's leading scorer, as he earned six points on 2-of-6 shooting.
Second Half
Scarver began the second half with five quick points, finishing an and-one layup before taking a steal for another two points.
He dished Pittman for another two points soon thereafter, giving the Thundering Herd a 7-0 run to begin the second half.
Keely fired back less than two minutes later with a strong layup and point after on a dish from Offutt.
Cooper continued his stellar assist campaign early in the second half, notching a pair more — one of which was a back-to-the-basket, behind-the-back dish to Offutt, who laid the ball in and was fouled.
Ohio coasted through the first media timeout, keeping a 31-point lead to that point, at which it had four players with 10-plus points.
Kane fouled out of the game with 7:46 remaining, notching his fifth foul in a scuffle for the ball under Ohio's basket.
Ohio led 76-47 at that point.
On Ohio's next trip down the floor, Cooper and Marshall senior forward Robert Goff were whistled for technicals for badmouthing one another.
Cooper set a new career and Ohio single-game mark with his 16th and 17th assists of the game inside the six-minute mark, putting the Bobcats ahead 82-49 with 5:36 to play.
Ohio coach Jim Christian took Cooper out of the game in favor of Taylor less than a minute later, and his performance was recognized by a standing ovation.
Exactly 30 seconds later, Keely hit his first career three-pointer from the top of the key.
Ohio senior guard David McKinley and redshirt junior guard Nick Goff closed the Bobcats' scoring slate with three-pointers with time winding down.
Final: Ohio 94, Marshall 57
The Bobcats mounted a 9-1 lead to begin the game and never looked back, cruising to their largest point total of the season in a blowout of rival Marshall.
Cooper's distribution was the key for the Bobcats, as his record-setting performance was the backbone of Ohio's 65.3 shooting percentage.
Ohio converted, on average, almost two points off each of Marshall's 26 turnovers, finishing the game with 51 as a result of Thundering Herd miscues.
Statistics
Kellogg: 22 points, three steals, three rebounds, two assists
Keely: 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting
Offutt: 13 points, three assists, three rebounds, two steals
Baltic: 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals
Cooper: 17 assists, 12 points, six rebounds, four steals
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Scarver: 13 points, three assists
Hanner: 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals
Twitter Notes
Cooper's behind-the-back dish was as pretty as it gets...
It was clear early Ohio had the upper hand...
It's like a broken record, but Ohio is at its best when Cooper distributes...
The play of Baltic, Keely slid under the radar...
Christian's foot was kept firmly on the pedal — just what Ohio needed...
It'd have been interesting to see Travis Wilkins from beyond the arc...
Up Next
Ohio (9-5) will return to its home court Wednesday for its first MAC game, against Buffalo. The contest will mark the beginning of its seven-game January MAC schedule.
The Bulls are 5-9 on the year and will have not seen game action since falling by six to Tulsa on Jan. 2 when they make the trip to The Convo Wednesday.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
