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Baltic's 22 points lead Ohio past Northern Iowa |
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Wednesday, December 21 2011 |
 OHIO 76, NORTHERN IOWA 59
Baltic surpassed his season-high in the first half with 16 points. D.J. Cooper, meanwhile, continued to stuff the stat sheet with 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and his 200th career steal.
Backcourt partner Nick Kellogg scored 11 points (3-of-5 on threes), dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds. T.J. Hall also played well offensively, matching his season-best with 10 points and four rebounds.
"I thought our defense was really good tonight," coach John Groce said. "We held a team that relies heavily on three-point shooting to 30 percent from beyond the arc. I also have to give our post players a lot of credit, because we left them in single coverage a lot tonight. Everyone on our team, including our staff, prepared diligently for this contest."
The Bobcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back. Leading 12-7, Ohio took a double-digit lead after a Reggie Keely jumper and Walter Offutt triple.
The Green and White led by 11 before Cooper connected on a teardrop runner in the lane. TyQuane Goard slammed one home along the baseline, and Baltic drilled a corner three-pointer for the ’Cats largest lead of the half at 39-21.
UNI cut the Ohio lead to eigh early in the second half, but the `Cats went on an 8-0 run after threes by Offutt and Kellogg and a Baltic layup. Leading 59-45, Ohio went on another 8-0 run to gain its largest lead of the night, 22 points, midway through the second half.
From that point on, the lead never dipped below 16 for the Bobcats.
Ohio shot 52 percent from the field for the game and was also able to hold UNI to 35 percent shooting. It was the fourth-straight Ohio opponent to be held under 40 percent.
For the game, Ohio connected on 11 three-pointers, one shy of the season-high, while attempting 21 tries. The Bobcats were a plus-five in the rebounding and scored 32 points in the paint (+10)
Ohio returns home for three-straight contests against North Carolina A&T (Dec. 23), Kennesaw State (Dec. 29) and Robert Morris (Jan. 2).
Courtesy of Ohio Athletics
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