 Ivo Baltic, shown here against Miami last year, led all scorers Saturday with 20 points as the Ohio Bobcats rallied in the second half to defeat Miami, 69-65. MRO file photo by Mike Smith.
BOBCATS START WIN STREAK
OU (15-4) finished its first swing through the MAC East with a 3-2 record after blowing out Kent State earlier in the week. Miami (5-12) dropped to 1-4 in conference play by letting another second half lead slip away. The RedHawks, in fact, led at halftime in each of their four conference losses.
Ohio put four players in double figures as forward Ivo Baltic led the way with a 20-point day. The senior used his strong inside game to score 10 points in each half. Guard D.J. Cooper was held to 2-of-10 from the field, but he registered most of his points down the stretch and finished with 13 markers. Reggie Kelly chipped in 11.
Bobcats forward Walter Offutt (15) scored just two points after intermission, but that basket gave Ohio the lead, 64-63, with 1:29 remaining. After missing a shot with 23 seconds left, he sliced in to rebound his own shot. The Bobcats then closed the door on MU with five free throws that more than offset a late put-back by Julian Mavunga.
BRIAN SULLIVAN LEADS MU SCORING
Miami, hampered by foul trouble, had just two players in double figures. Freshman guard Brian Sullivan came off the bench to score 16 points in 29 minutes. He was 6-of-14 from the field overall and made 4-of-9 from behind the arc. Collectively, the RedHawks launched 23 treys and connected on 10 (43.5 percent).
Center Drew Magee managed 10 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes before fouling out with 1:46 remaining.
Mavunga, the MAC scoring leader (18.4 ppg) drew four fouls and played 31 minutes while scoring seven points. It was just his second time in single digits this year, but it was also the second time in the last three games. He registered eight points in a 52-51 RedHawks win over Buffalo Jan. 14.
EARLY TREY SUCCESS
Miami grabbed an early advantage, running off eight straight points for an 8-3 lead. Six of those points came on a pair of treys – a sign of things to come. The RedHawks hit 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) from behind the arc before intermission. Sullivan and Josh Sewell were a perfect 5-of-5 on treys.
Ohio closed to 8-7 before the RedHawks ran off 11 more for a 19-7 advantage. It would be their largest lead of the day. OU cut the deficit in half, 37-31, by halftime, thanks in large part to Offutt and Baltic. The pair combined for all but one of the Bobcats final 14 points in the period.
“We played so good in the first half,” Miami coach Charlie Coles said. “We showed our talent, but in the second half … we (weren’t) thinking like we can on the offensive end”
He continued, “We can point to some things that we didn’t do quite as well, that had we done them, I think we might have come away little bit … happier.”
After hitting 14-of-21 (67 percent) from the field over the first 20 minutes, MU cooled off some in the second half (12-of-31, 38 percent). Ohio, connected on 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) before intermission and 12-of-23 (52 percent) coming home.
FREE THROW FACTOR
The hosts also used the foul line effectively, cashing in on 13-of-19 charity shots over the final 20 minutes. Miami took five free throws on the day, all by Adam Thomas, who converted three.
Reggie Keely’s three old-fashioned threes were part of a 10-2 run that enabled the hosts to catch Miami at 45-all with 10:45 left.
Given the RedHawks recent history of second half woes, mounting foul problems and the amount of time left, MU seemed to be on the ropes. When Baltic came up with a steal on Miami’s next possession and Ricardo Johnson put Ohio up two with a short jumper, the near-capacity crowd screamed for more.
Instead, they watched MU fight back to take a 52-47 lead after Jon Harris canned a three from the left side at 8:18.
It was a nine-point Miami lead at 59-51 after Quinten Rollins scored two quick buckets in eight seconds. However, the RedHawks made just two more field goals the rest of the way, and the last one was with three seconds left.
COOPER FINDS THE RANGE
Ohio, on the other hand, scored 18 points before the final horn, including eight by Cooper. He made his first field goal of the day at 3:31 and followed with a three-ball to cut the deficit to 63-60. Layups by Keely and Offutt put the Bobcats out front at 64-63 at 1:29 and they held off MU with free throws to seal the verdict.
“It’s tough times,” Coles said. “We’ve played so many games this year where we’ve played some beautiful basketball. But you can’t expect freshmen to close it down. You’ve got to have smarter play out of your older guys. Again, turnovers cost us when we needed to play better.”
Having dropped two in a row and five of six, the RedHawks will try to get back on the winning track when they start inter-divisional play by hosting Toledo Wednesday (7 p.m.) Ohio will remain at home with a Wednesday matchup against Western Michigan at the Convocation Center. |
