Ohio fell to Denver by a score of 61-57 Tuesday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. The loss ended Ohio's season. Read our chronological coverage of the game below.
Pregame
The best way to adjust to playing in a high-elevation environment such as Denver’s is to “just go in and play,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said.
The Bobcats (24-9) had no other option after being selected to play the Pioneers in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. The timeframe left for only one day of practice before heading west.
Denver (21-9) runs a unique “Princeton” offense that features a slew of backdoor cuts, three-point shooting and sharp passing from every player on the floor.
The Pioneers also run the second-slowest offense in the NCAA, as they average only 61.1 possessions per game.
Their defense is one of the nation’s stoutest, as well. They are one of only 10 Division I teams to hold their opponents to less than 57 points per game.
Ohio will have to be on its game from the opening tip in order to combat Denver, which was perfect at home in Western Athletic Conference play.
“(Denver has) one of those offenses that if you’re not focused and alert they’ll take advantage of it,” Christian said. “It has to be everybody on the team.”
The Bobcats are winless on the year in non-conference road play.
The NIT wasn’t Ohio’s favored postseason destination. Not reaching the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons was a disappointment for the Bobcats, but they have said they will be ready to go come game time.
“We’re never going to sit back and be like, ‘We didn’t reach our goals.’ ” Ohio redshirt junior forward Jon Smith said. “That’s how you come out and get beat down again. We’re not going out there to get beat up. We’re going out there to win games.”
Look back at the Bobcats' last game, a 19-point loss against Akron, 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 starters are guards D.J. Cooper, a senior, Walter Offutt, a redshirt senior and Nick Kellogg, a junior, and forwards Reggie Keely, a senior, and T.J. Hall, a junior.
Denver scored on its first possession, less than 20 seconds into the game, to open overall scoring. Keely followed with a short turnaround jumper to put the Bobcats on the board just inside the 19-minute mark.
Ohio took its first lead less than a minute later on a jumper from Hall, which Kellogg extended with a runner about a two and a half minutes into the game.
Ohio senior forward Ivo Baltic was the first bench player to check into the game. He was followed by junior guard Travis Wilkins not soon therafter.
Redshirt junior forward Jon Smith entered the game just outside the 16-minute mark, as well.
Ohio led 8-7 at that point.
Denver junior forward Chris Udofia proved to be the Pioneers' interior glue early on, as he had four of their first seven points.
Denver took its second lead of the game just inside the first media timeout.
Ohio guards Stevie Taylor, a sophomore, and Ricardo Johnson, a junior, checked in at the 13-minute mark.
The Pioneers extended their lead to four before Johnson banked in a runner to move the score to 12-10 with 12:30 to play in the first half.
Smith evened the score at the 11-minute mark with a one-handed slam, but the Pioneers pulled ahead on their next possession on a drive-and-layup play.
That possession was Denver's first of three in which it pushed the pace through the paint and scored an open layup.
Kellogg broke the Bobcats' scoreless streak with a three from the wing with 8:30 remaining to bring the score within three, but another Denver drive bumped the margin back to five.
Wilkins got back on track with a corner three from Wilkins with seven minutes left in the first half, but were burned once again on the backdoor cut on the Pioneers' ensuing possession.
Wilkins emulated his previous shot on his next touch, as he drained a three from the same spot less than a minute later to bring Ohio within four.
After a Denver 3-pointer, Johnson drove the baseline for Ohio and brought the Bobcats within three with 3:30 to play in the first half.
Hall picked up his third foul by the three-minute mark and headed to the bench.
The Pioneers had increased their lead to five once again at that point.
Cooper scored his first points of the game with 1:55 remaining on a three-point play.
He was fouled 25 seconds later and tied the game for Ohio with a pair of free throw makes.
Cooper finished off a seven-point run with a runner banked off the glass inside the final 10 seconds of the half to give Ohio a two-point lead at the break.
Halftime: Ohio 32, Denver 30
Cooper led the Bobcats with seven points in the first half, while Wilkins had six and Kellogg had five.
Udofia was Denver's most dynamic performer. He had nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Freshman guard Jalen Love was the Pioneers' next-best offensive player, as he finished the half with six points.
Denver finished ahead of the Bobcats in blocks (six) and assists (7). The Bobcats also had five turnovers to the Pioneers' three.
Second Half
It took a 1:45 for either team to get on the board in the second half, but Denver did so with yet another backdoor cut.
Baltic then earned his first points of the game on the other end when he converted a contested layup.
Cooper continued to roll offensively when he hit a three-pointer with 16:30 remaining in the game.
Ohio led 37-35 at that point, and extended their lead to four on a Wilkins jumper on its next possession.
About a minute later, Cooper upped Ohio's lead to a game-high seven with a three from the wing.
Denver climbed back within five on its next possession, but Taylor drove the lane and finished over an interior defender to move the Bobcats' lead back to seven with 13 minutes to play.
Denver was able to pry loose a steal for an easy transition layup with 11:55 to play.
The score was 46-44 in Ohio's favor at that point.
Cooper notched his fourth assist on the next play, as he fed Keely on a bounce pass inside for two points.
Denver fired back, though, with a similar play of its own.
After another basket, Denver tied the score at 48 with 10 minutes to play.
Denver briefly took a one-point lead, which Keely overtook with a pair of free throws with 7:40 remaining.
After a Denver bucket, Keely broke the 10-point plateau with a layup. The Pioneers, however, poured in a layup of their own on the other end to regain the lead.
A step-back jumper from sophomore guard Brett Olsen upped the Pioneers' lead to three with 5:02 remaining.
The Pioneers pushed their lead to five by the 3:42 mark. Ohio had not made a field goal since the 7:04 mark at that point.
Cooper took a broken play and drained a deep three with three minutes remaining to move the score within two.
Olsen fouled Keely with 1:50 remaining to signal their last foul before being in the bonus.
Keely closed the gap to one on Ohio's next possession.
The score read 58-57 with 1:02 left in the game.
The Bobcats had a chance to tie with 38 seconds on the clock, but Cooper missed a contested layup with the shot clock winding down.
Ohio immediately fouled, and Denver made one of its two shots.
Keely was unable to convert a layup with less than 10 seconds on the clock.
Final: Denver 61, Ohio 57
The Bobcats had a pair of opportunities to reverse the outcome in the game's final minute, but were unable to convert, thus ending their season.
Statistics
Cooper: 16 points, four assists
Keely: 12 points, two rebounds
Wilkins: Eight points on 3-of-5 shooting
Baltic: Two points, 15 rebounds
---------
Olsen: 15 points, three steals
Udofia: 14 points, three blocks
Griffin: 14 points, 10 rebounds
Reactions
"This wasn’t an easy thing to do. I mean, we found out (on) Sunday night at 9:30 and we’re on a plane next day at noon. (Denver) is unbelievably hard to prepare for in a day. I was proud of our guys." — Christian
"We had our chances to win the game. That’s all you can ask. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t make a couple shots." — Christian
"It’s college basketball in the postseason — guys play hard. Teams are going to go on runs. They went up eight in the first half, (and) we went up seven in the second half. There’s nothing different. Both teams played well." — Christian
