During Ohio’s first possession of the game, the Bobcats grabbed four offensive rebounds, which set the tone for the rest of the contest and showcased their superior athleticism and height advantage.
Ohio (4-1) defeated Heidelberg 85-57 on Saturday in The Convo despite a hot start from the Student Princes in the first half, the Bobcats ultimately pulled away for their third consecutive victory.
“I thought in the second half, we played the way we’re capable of playing,” coach Jim Christian said. “In the first half, you’ve got to give credit to Heidelberg. They came out and shot the ball extremely well. They played very, very hard and I think we started off a little bit tentative. We were kind of letting our offense dictate our effort on defense.”
Heidelberg (1-2) sank five shots from behind the arc during the first ten minutes, as senior guard Mike Petrie was 4-for-8 from beyond the arc and scored all 12 of his points in the first half.
Ohio senior guard Nick Kellogg led all scores with 18 points, though redshirt senior forward Jon Smith really shined for the Bobcats, as he finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and an assist.
“I think Jon approached this game with real maturity,” Christian said. “(He’s) playing the same way, regardless of who the opponent is. …With that type of approach, he’s able to make plays and that’s what he did today.”
Ohio looked flat early, struggling to make easy baskets and defensively gave Heidelberg shooters open looks, but the Bobcats began to pull away with six minutes remaining in the first half, after Kellogg sank a pair of three-pointers and Smith scored two baskets in the paint.
Defensively, Bobcats also turned around their performance, as they put together seven consecutive stops that led to a 14-0 run late in the first half.
Ohio put its final stamp on the first half with 1:09 remaining when senior guard Ricardo Johnson blocked a shot and dunked during the ensuing possession to give the Bobcats a nine-point halftime lead. Kellogg added that Ohio had to tighten up their game in the second half to not let Heidelberg hang around like the first stanza.
“Our effort wasn’t at the level it needed to be (in the first half),” Kellogg said. “I think that was just the main thing that picked up in the second half.”
The second half started similar to the first, as the Student Princes found momentum early after a pair of Bobcat blunders.
Ohio junior forward Maurice Ndour fouled during Heidelberg forward Jackson Blue’s three-point make. Although Blue missed his free throw attempt to record a four-point play, Heidelberg rebounded and then made another shot beyond the arc and it was a three-point game with 18:26 left on the clock.
However, Ohio’s eventually pulled away to secure the victory, primarily because of its 62.5 shooting percentage in the second half.
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