BOWLING GREEN — Ohio junior guard Nick Kellogg has not shot the ball well, of late. He’s the first to admit it.
Because of the encouragement he had from his teammates and the green light he received from his coaches, he didn’t stop shooting.
That push paid off Saturday in Ohio’s 78-65 win against Bowling Green, as Kellogg made four of his nine from beyond the arc — equal to the number of threes he made in his previous seven games — in a 16-point performance.
With the win, the Bobcats (21-8, 12-2 Mid-American Conference) locked up a No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament, meaning they have a bye to the semifinals.
With each shot that fell, Kellogg appeared to become more relaxed; in part because of the reception his teammates greeted him with after every swish.
After every three-ball, at least a handful of Ohio players raised their hands, as if to tell him, ‘Keep shooting.’
“I could miss 100 shots and every time I shoot they think it’s going in,” Kellogg said. “That’s a big help to me, mentally.”
For the first time in more than a month, Ohio coach Jim Christian changed his starting lineup Saturday. Junior forward T.J. Hall had “a lot of swelling” after playing Akron Wednesday, Christian said, and though he warmed up with the team, Christian decided to hold him from game action.
That cleared room for senior forward Ivo Baltic to make his first start in a month. He was aggressive early on and finished the fist half with a pair of offensive rebounds and as many assists, in addition to a single basket.
However, Baltic faded after the break and failed to improve his stat line. He finished with two points on 1-for-8 shooting.
Ohio junior guard Ricardo Johnson provided a welcome spark for the Bobcats, as he filled in at times for Baltic at power forward. He had eight points and a pair of assists.
The Bobcats led by as much as 13 in the first half, and were ahead by 11 heading into the final minute before halftime.
Bowling Green (12-17, 6-8 MAC) senior forward A’uston Calhoun scored five points in the half’s final 55 seconds to cut Ohio’s lead to six, however.
His last shot of the half was a banked-in three pointer with three seconds on the clock, which was the final blow of a 6:36 stretch where he scored 12 points — all but four of the Falcons’ points during that span.
“You have to guard him the whole possession,” Christian said. “He’s going to continually work. That’s the one thing I like about him. He never stops working to get the basketball.”
In a fashion reminiscent of Akron's second half run against Ohio Wednesday, Bowling Green scored seven straight points coming out of the break to take the lead.
Christian called a timeout after the initial burst, and from then on out it was smooth sailing for the Bobcats.
They regained the lead and upped it to seven points within the next 3:17 before hitting their stride and leading by as much as 15.
Calhoun’s tireless work ethic paid a toll on him later in the game, as he was held scoreless in the final 13 minutes of play.
“When you dig yourself in a hole against a good team that executes well, especially with a good point guard, it’s hard to come back from that,” he said. “It’s hard to score on constant possessions (if) they get a few stops.”
Ohio senior forward Reggie Keely said trapping Calhoun in the post proved unsuccessful early on because of his ability to handle the ball under the basket. The difference in the second half was Ohio’s commitment to making him make moves toward the hoop.
“We tried to make him catch it as far (away) as we can,” Keely said.
Christian brushed off the importance of Ohio locking up a two-game MAC Tournament bye. Keely, who finished with a team-high 21 points, said he’s glad the Bobcats got their conference seeding out of the way early, however.
“Last year we locked up a three seed, and that’s the best we’ve been in four years,” he said. “I think it’s a big step for us as a team and the program as a whole.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
