PREGAME
Ohio (21-10, 11-7) takes on Ball State (5-24, 2-16) in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. five seed. If the Bobcats win, they will take on the winner of Miami and Kent State on Wednesday in Cleveland. Cardinals senior forward Chris Bond is the team’s leading scorer with 12.3 points per game. The Bobcats enter the tournament with back-to-back wins against Bowling Green and Miami.
STARTING LINEUP:
OHIO:
redshirt junior guard Javarez Willis, freshman forward Antonio Campbell, senior guard Nick Kellogg, senior forward Jon Smith, senior guard Travis Wilkins
BALL STATE:
freshman guard Zavier Turner, senior guard Jesse Berry, senior forward Chris Bond, freshman forward Franko House, senior center Majok Majok
FIRST HALF
The Bobcats found their shooting stroke early against the Cardinals; sinking their first five of seven 3-pointers as the Bobcats went into halftime leading comfortably 38-26.
Ohio raced out to an early 25-6 lead, thanks to their hot shooting behind the arc on their way to an early 20-0 run. Ohio then increased its lead to 22 points with 8:28 left in the first half. Redshirt junior guard Javarez Willis scored 11 points, and pulled down three rebounds while shooting three of four from behind the arc. Willis and senior guard Travis Wilkins combined to score 22 points in the first half.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals struggled to find a groove early, as they had 10 turnovers and eight fouls. Ball State mounted a comeback late in the first half to cut Ohio’s lead to 10 points with 1:24 left in the first half. Cardinals freshman forward Franko House led the Cardinals with nine points.
BOX SCORE:
OHIO:
Willis- 11 points and three rebounds
Wilkins- 11 points
Kellogg- six points and two rebounds
BALL STATE:
House- nine points
Najok- eight points and four rebounds
Turner- five points and one rebound
SECOND HALF
Ohio took care of business in its last home game of year against Ball State, winning 76-64. The Bobcats will now advance to Cleveland and play Miami in the second round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Wednesday.
Ohio shot 52 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from 3-point range as Ohio rolled to an easy victory Monday night. While the Bobcats offense was not as prolific in the second half, they forced the Cardinals into 12 turnovers on the defensive side or the game. Junior forward Maurice Ndour threw down an alley-oop to increase Ohio’s lead to 54-36 with 11:21 remaining in the game.
With 6:44 left in the game, a three-point play from senior guard Nick Kellogg put Ohio up by 14 points. Kellogg then put his stamp on the game with 3:41 remaining in the contest as he converted a 3-pointer to increase Ohio’s lead to 67-52. Four Bobcats finished in double figures and Kellogg led all scorers with 17 points.
FINAL BOX SCORE:
OHIO:
Nick Kellogg 17 points and four rebounds
Javarez Willis 15 points and three rebounds
Travis Wilkins 14 points
Antonio Campbell 12 points and four rebounds
BALL STATE:
Zavier Turner 14 points and two rebounds
Majok Majok 13 points and five rebounds
Franko House 12 points and six rebounds
Jesse Berry 10 points and two rebounds
