Ohio (15-5, 6-0 Mid-American Conference) beat Kent State by a score of 69-68 Saturday on the road. The Bobcats' win signaled the first time they were undefeated six games into conference play since the 1973-1974 season. Follow our chronological coverage of the game below.
Pregame
Ohio is a third of the way through its Mid-American Conference schedule, and is at the point where there are few secrets when it comes to teams' respective schemes.
That's especially the case for the Bobcats' game against Kent State Saturday, which signals coach Jim Christian's return to the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, where he led the Golden Flashes for six seasons.
Kent State (11-8, 2-3 MAC) coach Rob Senderoff is one of Christian's best friends. The two talk almost daily, and analyze each others' team adamantly.
Still, once Christian and company hit the floor, it's business as usual.
"It was just like we said when we played Toledo: There’s no secrets out there," he said. "They know what we’re doing. He was there when we were putting it all in. And they’re still running stuff that they were running while I was there."
Leading the Golden Flashes' offense are seniors Randal Holt, a forward, and Chris Evans, a guard.
They combine for more than 30 percent of the team's points and are the only two seniors on its roster.
Christian labeled sophomore guard Kris Brewer as the Golden Flashes' X-factor, however.
"When he gets it going, he can score, he can shoot threes, he can really penetrate," Christian said. "When he gets it going they’re a much better team."
Looking to slow him down will be Ohio (14-5, 5-0 MAC) senior guard D.J. Cooper, who is six helpers away from breaking into the NCAA's all-time top 20 in assists.
With a win, the Bobcats would move to 6-0 in MAC play for the first time since the 1973-1974 season. A 3-0 road conference road record would be a first for the Bobcats since the 1992-1993 season.
Kent State is 6-5 at home this season, and has fell in its last two games, against rival Akron and Bowling Green.
First Half
Ohio's starters are Cooper, redshirt senior guard Walter Offutt, junior guard Nick Kellogg, and senior forwards Reggie Keely and Ivo Baltic.
When introduced after Ohio's starting five, Christian received a minimal reaction from an approximately two-third capacity crowd.
Ohio had two steals on Kent State's opening trips down the floor, converting its second shot into two points when Kellogg went up-and-under for a layup.
Offutt made good of Ohio's third trip down the floor, netting a three-pointer, while Keely scored with a post move on the Bobcats' next two possessions.
Kent State countered each score, though, with an interior play for two points.
Junior forward Jon Smith was the first Ohio bench player to enter the game. he did so with 14:32 to play in the first half, when the Bobcats led 9-6.
Juniors T.J. Hall, a forward, and Ricardo Johnson, a guard, checked in soon thereafter.
After falling in a three-point hole, Cooper tied the game once again with an and-one layup play with 12:45 left in the first half.
Evans hit a three-pointer from the top of the key on the Golden Flashes' next try, which Cooper countered with a mid-range jumper.
Ohio sophomore guard Stevie Taylor checked in at the second media timeout, and fed Hall for a layup on his first trip down the floor.
Junior guard Travis Wilkins made his first appearance only seconds later.
He put the Bobcats ahead by one on his first shot attempt — a short jumper in open space created by a pump fake from three.
Kent State thundered back with a dunk from freshman big man Khaliq Spicer, which Keely combatted with a slam of his own.
It was around that point where the game's pace began to heat up.
Sure enough, after running the length of the floor and heading to the hoop for a layup, Cooper was called for a technical foul for letting out a couple words of displeasure.
The game was tied at 22 at that point.
He notched his second personal foul — a charge — not long after, giving him two and a seat on the bench.
Kellogg gave Ohio the lead early in his absence with a corner three.
The game's oddities continued through the closing stretch of the first half, as Offutt was whistled for an intentional foul for clearing out a Kent State defender near the three-point line. The call was for an elbow to the chest/neck area.
Taylor gave the Bobcats the lead once again with a three-pointer with just more than a minute to go.
Spicer responded with a dunk to grant Kent State a one-point advantage leading into the final minute of the half.
The Golden Flashes took a four-point lead into the half after beating the buzzer with a three-pointer from dead center.
Halftime: Kent State 36, Ohio 32
Despite outshooting the Golden Flashes in the first half, Ohio went into the break behind because of a slew of fouls. Kent State had 13 points as a result of Ohio's 10 fouls, and also forced the Bobcats into committing eight turnovers.
The Golden Flashes were led offensively by Evans, as he shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for 14 points.
Holt had nine points, while forward Darren Goodson totaled seven of his own.
Cooper was the Bobcats' best on offense. He shot 4-for-6 from the floor for nine points, while Keely had six and Kellogg had five.
Second Half
The Bobcats started the second half on a high note, as Keely scored on both of their first three possessions — the last of which was a layup over Holt.
The Golden Flashes responded with six straight points, however, before Ohio could get back in the scoring column with a Kellogg three.
Neither team took a distinct advantage in the half's first seven minutes, as the score was deadlocked at 46 at that point.
Cooper began to take much of the game into his own hands by driving the hoop more often. He had 13 points at that juncture, and added two more just inside the 13-minute mark.
He then hit a three-pointer to give Ohio its largest lead to that point (six points) with 11:29 remaining.
The Golden Flashes closed the gap to three points, but Johnson hit a runner with contact to bump the lead back to five with 10 minutes remaining.
Holt, however, was fouled on a three-point attempt on Kent State's next possession, and made two of his three shots to bump the margin back to three.
Ohio opened up its lead a bit heading into the 7:45-mark, when it led by eight behind a steal-and-layup combination by Kellogg.
He had the chance to extend Ohio's lead with a pair of three-point attempts on its next possession, but came up empty on both, while Kent State cashed in a three of its own.
Another three and and-one drive from Evans gave the Golden Flashes a 63-60 lead with 4:44 to play.
After a Keely layup, the Golden Flashes posted an up-and-under score of their own to keep their lead at three with less than four minutes remaining.
Keely brought the score back to a tie with a foul shot and layup on Ohio's next possession. The score was 65-65 with 2:40 remaining.
Fast forward two minutes, the Bobcats led 69-68 after a pair of Cooper free throws.
After forcing a travel, Ohio had one more shot at the basket. Cooper worked the shot clock down to just less than 10 seconds before unleashing a wild three-poing attempt that missed the mark.
Kent State collected the rebound and made its way across mid-court. As time ticked down, the Golden Flashes hoisted a runner in the lane, which clanked off the iron and out of their grasp.
Final: Ohio 69, Kent State 68
Ohio gave the Golden Flashes an opportunity to win the game with eight seconds on the clock, but Holt's final attempt was off the mark, and Ohio escaped with the victory.
The Bobcats shot an even 50 percent from the field, but were out-rebounded by 15. They allowed 14 offensive rebounds, as well.
Cooper was efficient offensively, tying his season-high of 23 points. However, he failed to crack the NCAA all-time top 20 assist slate, as he had only five helpers.
Statistics
Cooper: 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, five assists, three steals, three rebounds
Keely: 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting, three rebounds
Kellogg: 10 points
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Evans: 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting, seven assists, four rebounds
Holt: 14 points, three rebounds
Goodson: 10 points, four rebounds
Brewer: Eight points, four rebounds
Reactions
"I couldn’t be happier with our kids. We got down by four late and just didn’t panic, played the right way, got a huge stop when we needed to get it, and that’s what you need to do to win in a real difficult environment." — Christian
"When they tied it up we just brought it in in the huddle and we just knew we had to get some stops. Walt made a key stop on Evans when he got the travel, and we just took it from there." — Cooper, on Ohio's late-game mentality
"You have to get layups. You have to get easy baskets. When he runs down the floor it opens up our three-point shooters, but also that’s the stretch of the game where those types of baskets win the game for you." — Christian, on Keely's efficiency late in the game
"We just came together. We’ve been doing the little things that it takes to be successful, like defending, getting stops late and trusting one another." — Cooper, on what Ohio has improved upon lately
"Regardless of the game being close or not close, this is MAC basketball, so we understand — this is Kent State at home — we understand this was going to be a 40-minute game, so without a question there are a lot of things we have to take from this. There are a lot of small, small things that we did that allowed them to get back in." — Christian, on the lessons he looks to take away from the win
Twitter Notes
That was the type of finish that gives you chills...
The Cooper-Keely connection was in full tilt...
Thirteen second half turnovers are enough to drive Kent State crazy...
Baltic came up empty on offense, but was sound defensively...
One statistic summed up the game well...
Up Next
Ohio will return to game action Wednesday against Eastern Michigan at The Convo. The Eagles (10-10, 3-3 MAC) beat Northern Illinois 42-25 on their home floor Saturday.
