Mid-American Conference Basketball

It was a highly anticipated matchup between two undefeated MAC powerhouses, the first time in recent memory that two undefeated MAC teams met this late in the season.

And it lived up to the hype—sort of.

In their first meeting since last year’s classic MAC championship game, Akron (17-4, 8-0) exacted a bit of revenge with an 86-72 win over Ohio (15-6, 6-1) in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 5,770 at Rhodes Arena. 

Led by point guard Alex Abreu and a powerful frontcourt duo, Akron bullied its way to a 13th straight victory, the longest winning streak in the nation.

The diminutive Abreu scored 21 points and added nine assists and 7'0" center Zeke Marshall and forward Demetrius Treadwell each contributed double-doubles. Marshall had 17 points and 12 rebounds while Treadwell added 15 points and 10 rebounds. The two helped the Zips pound Ohio on the glass 40-22. 

The Bobcats knew containing Akron’s athletic and active big men on the boards would be their most difficult challenge, but they were unable to execute. 

“I give them credit. When Treadwell and Marshall want the ball, they go get it, and unless you stop them, they’re going to get it a lot,” said Ohio coach Jim Christian. “You got to want it. The key is hunger. We didn’t want it bad enough tonight. We didn’t invent block outs over here. They’re not much bigger than us. Treadwell is 6'7", but he wants the ball and he goes and gets every one of them.” 

It was a close, physical game throughout, but the Zips used a decisive 14-4 run to stretch a five-point lead to 15 with 4:29 remaining. 

Akron shot 56.1 percent from the field (32-57) and outscored Ohio 40-28 in the paint. 

“That’s what I call a team effort,” said Abreu, who was one of five Zips to score in double figures. “We kept moving the ball, nobody was trying to be a hero. We kept moving and moving until somebody was open. We executed our plays and we exploited mismatches. We prepared for this game and guys came up big.”

Nick Kellogg led Ohio with 15 points while D.J. Cooper chipped in 14 points and six assists. 

The Bobcats came out of the gate swinging, using a 14-0 run to take an early 19-8 lead. They hit nine of their first 11 shots and scored nine points off of four Akron turnovers. 

Ohio took its biggest lead on a Ricardo Johnson corner three for a 23-10 lead midway through the first half. 

“We got off to a great start, shot the ball particularly well and were getting stops, and that led us to get out on our break,” said Christian. 

But that’s when the Zips caught fire, scoring on eight straight possessions including a ferocious put-back dunk from Marshall to cut the Ohio lead to seven. 

Three straight made jumpers cut the deficit to 29-26 before Abreu got hot. He scored eight points during a 12-3 Akron run to give the Zips a 38-35 lead. 

“I thought Abreu was the difference in the game,” Christian said. “He controlled the tempo of the game. We wanted to keep him out of the lane, and we didn’t do that very well.” 

Akron completed the 18-point first half turnaround when freshman Reggie McAdams sank a three-pointer from the wing with 30 seconds left to take a 41-36 halftime lead.

Akron scored on a ridiculous 14 of their final 17 first-half possessions and shot 18-29 (62.1 percent) in the opening 20 minutes. 

“The last seven or eight minutes of the first half we didn’t get any stops,” said Christian bluntly.

Abreu and Marshall did not miss a shot, combining to hit on all nine field goal attempts for 20 points. 

The second half was much more even-keeled with neither team scoring more than five points in a row until Akron took control with its final run. 

Back-to-back threes from McAdams gave Akron its biggest lead at 59-50. McAdams scored in double figures for just the fourth time all season, hitting on three of his four three-point attempts. 

Two free throws each from Reggie Keely and Cooper brought Ohio to within five, but Pat Forsythe converted a three-point play to ignite Akron’s 14-4 run. Marshall scored on a layup off a dish from Abreu, and Treadwell hammered home a dunk and hit a foul-line jumper to give the Zips nine straight points. Abreu answered a Cooper three with one of his own and made two free throws to give the Zips their largest lead of the night at 73-58. 

During the run, the Bobcats seemed to rush their offense, taking contested shots early in the shot clock in an effort to combat the Zips’ scorching shooting. 

But Ohio would not go away, continuing to attack the Zips’ interior defense to get to the line time and time again. Ohio was 21-of-29 from the charity stripe.

T.J. Hall, who scored a season-high 12 points off the bench, hit back-to-back threes to bring Ohio to within eight with 2:18 remaining, but the Zips made their free throws down the stretch to close the game. 

Ohio shot just 32.3 percent (10-31) in the second half and 40.7 percent overall.  

Cooper, Ohio’s leading scorer at 14.6 points per game, was just 3-of-10 from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. Akron employed a strategy it used in last year’s MAC Championship game, using 6'7" forwards Nick Harney and Treadwell to guard Cooper for a majority of the second half. 

“We switched gears at halftime,” said Akron coach Keith Dambrot. “Abreu guarded him in the first half and we gave ball-screen help and they caught us in between rotations. The second half we switched the ball screens so we put the bigger guy on Cooper. It was a calculated risk.” 

Although frustrated, Christian said he wouldn’t overreact to the disappointing loss. 

“I don’t put too much stock in any one game. This is a long race, we’re seven games in (out of 16 conference games).” 

Added Kellogg, “We just got to clean things up and get onto the next one.” 

The two teams will meet again at the Convocation Center in Athens on February 27. 

As for the immediate future, the Bobcats will look to climb back on track when they visit Ball State (8-12, 2-6) on Wednesday night for their fourth straight road game. 

Notes: Cooper passed Grayson Marshall (Clemson, 1984-88) for 19th on the all-time Division I assists list and now has 861…Ohio’s Ivo Baltic was held scoreless for the second consecutive game. The senior forward, who came into the game averaging 8.7 points, attempted just one shot in 22 minutes.

Marlowe Alter is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

The Akron Zips did not receive a single vote for the most recent AP Top 25 poll in men's basketball, but they're making some big waves around the NCAA.

After starting this season 4-4, they've won 11 straight. They've soared to the top of the MAC East and have the second-longest winning streak in the nation (Kansas has won 18 in a row). But it's not just the recent spate of wins that has giving the Zips so much buzz.

On Monday morning, Akron teased their Twitter followers with this:

Later that day, Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com reported that Akron planned to wear the team's Twitter handle (@ZipsMBB) on the back of their jerseys for the game against conference rival Ohio on February 2.

B/R's own Gabe Zaldivar wrote about it on Monday as well.

The game will be televised on ESPN U, and the Twitter-handle ploy is part of the school's Social Media Night. They will also have "the sidelines near each bench and the basket supports...adorned with the hashtags #ZipsGameday and #ThinkBigger" (per the Akron Athletics website).

By Monday evening, however, the Twitter jerseys had been nixed. The school's Senior Associate AD for External Relations, Dan Satter, said in a statement that they "had asked the NCAA if this was permissible and were told it is not."

At least the front of their jerseys will look cool. Akron's Director of Marketing, Brad Swanson, tweeted a picture of the uniforms, which will now merely read "Zips" on the back:

Although Matt Norlander disagrees with me, saying the "stand-alone Z' on the front is the opposite of hip—or zippy," I think these jerseys are bold, eye-catching and appropriate for a school trying to increase its national profile.

At any rate, the Zips will still feature their Twitter handle on the back of their warm-ups, and Social Media Night will proceed as planned. The shooting shirts will look like this:

Technically, putting a Twitter handle on the back of your uniform is not allowed, though it's probably just a matter of time.

According to Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo! Sports:

Under NCAA rules, teams are only allowed to have the name of a player, institution or mascot on the back of its jersey. The NCAA apparently has been reluctant to waive this rule under any circumstances because it fears there will be too many frivolous requests for exceptions.

Well, rules are rules, and this decision from the NCAA shouldn't be all that surprising.

They are certainly known for being a conservative organization (when it suits them). A week prior to striking down Akron's promotional attempt, the NCAA denied Iowa the right to memorialize a former player.

Former Hawkeye, Chris Street, died in an automobile accident in 1993. The school requested permission to wear "Street" on the backs of their jerseys to honor the 20th anniversary of his death (per Eisenberg).

The NCAA said no. Instead, Iowa wore a commemorative patch for Street.

But these stringent jersey rules are not hard and fast. In December, the NCAA permitted a tribute to the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Providence wore "Sandy Hook" on the back of their jerseys and Xavier wore it on the front of theirs (via Eisenberg and USA Today respectively).

Also, earlier in December, NC State was allowed to don jerseys bearing the phrase "Don't Ever Give Up" for the 18th annual Jimmy V Classic. This message on their backs honored former coach Jim Valvano, who led the school to the 1983 national championship.

Valvano popularized the phrase in 1993 before succumbing to cancer. It has become synonymous with courage and perseverance ever since.

While this was a tribute to a legendary figure in college basketball, it was not a spontaneous act of solidarity, as was the case with Providence and Xavier.

This was a pre-planned jersey designed as part of a promotional event, and even if proceeds are donated to cancer charities, it shows that the NCAA is willing to make exceptions to its own rules about uniforms in cases that are not spontaneous.

Moreover, the NCAA's refusal to allow Iowa to honor the memory of their player who tragically lost his life shows the utter inconsistency of their judgment. It speaks to a short-sightedness in applying the very rules which they themselves have set.

So it's clear that the rules about what can be printed on the back of a uniform are not set in stone. After all, it can even be the name of a mascot. So the NCAA cannot continue to allow some worthy tributes while striking down others.

And while a promotional ploy centered around social media is a far cry from honoring those who have passed away, it seems likely that these rules will increasingly be given more slack.

Five years from now, all players might be allowed to wear their own Twitter handles on the back their jerseys. It could even work for the NBA. I'd love to see Al Harrington wearing a jersey that said "@cheddahcheese7" on the back (please, verified handles only).

And regardless of the ruling by the NCAA in this case, the social media promotion by Akron has already worked.

It gained national media attention from numerous outlets, stoked debate, got the hashtag "#ZipsGameday" trending ("Because @ZipsMBB fans are awesome!") and garnered the Zips' account 100 new followers in just 24 hours.

So although we will not see Twitter handles on team jerseys just yet, Akron's Social Media Night has succeeded in its aim four days before it even took place.

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If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Ohio basketball over the past few years, it’s that the Bobcats are extremely difficult to beat at the Convocation Center.

Ohio picked up another win at home Wednesday night, trouncing Northern Illinois 81-63 to improve to 3-0 in MAC play for the first time since the 2005-2006 season. Ohio has now won 33 of its past 35 games at home, including a 10-1 mark this season.

Walter Offutt scored a game-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from downtown. Reggie Keely chipped in 12 points and D.J. Cooper, who was named MAC East Division Player of the Week for the third time in four weeks on Monday, filled the box score with nine points, eight assists and four steals.

After a sloppy opening eight-plus minutes in which Ohio committed seven turnovers and NIU five, the Huskies held a surprising 12-9 lead.

But Ohio found its mojo and quickly turned the three-point deficit into a laugher.

With help from their deep bench, the Bobcats went on a 20-0 run in just 5:50 to take a 29-12. Sparked by two free throws from Ricardo Johnson, who also provided stingy on-the-ball defense and great energy, Ohio tore apart the NIU defense while holding them without a field goal for more eight minutes.

Stevie Taylor swished two threes during the run, and Ohio made six straight trifectas as the run extended to 28-2.

The exclamation point was a beautiful alley-oop pass from Cooper to Ivo Baltic, which brought the raucous crowd of 7,648 to its feet.

"I thought the players got energy from the crowd," said Ohio coach Jim Christian. "We had an unbelievable student section. They were loud and into the game. In the first half, they provided an unbelievable spark for our team and we had some great runs.

After the game, Northern Illinois coach Mark Montgomery said, “(Ohio is) the best spurt team in the conference…I’m glad we only face them once in the regular season.”

The Bobcats outscored NIU 33-6 over the final 11:25 of the half to take a commanding 45-18 lead into halftime. Ohio shot 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from long range and 17-of-25  (68 percent) from the field in the first half.

Led by Taylor's eight points, Ohio’s bench outscored NIU 21-18 in the half.

“The bench with our energy got us going a little bit,” Johnson said. “We play on the same team a lot in practice, so when you come off the bench that chemistry kind of helps.”

Ohio continued the onslaught in the second half, extending the lead above 30 numerous times before Christian went to his deep reserves to close out the win.

The Bobcats racked up 25 assists, improving their nation-leading average to 19.6 per game. A perfect example of Ohio’s unselfish play occurred midway through the second half with Ohio leading by 30. Reggie Keely corralled an ill-advised pass and found Johnson, who raced up the court and kicked to Taylor on the wing who made the ‘extra pass’ to Offutt for a wide-open corner three-pointer.

Cooper, who came into the game second in the nation with 8.3 assists per game, added eight more to move into 23rd place on the all-time NCAA Division I assists list.

Ohio’s smothering defense forced 20 turnovers, leading to 28 points. The Huskies shot 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the floor and had just five assists NIU’s leading scorer Abdel Nader (13.6 pts) finished 7-of-21 from the field for 16 points with four turnovers. His air ball three-pointer late in the second half perfectly summed up the Huskies' night.

Ohio looks to move to 4-0 in conference play when it welcomes Toledo (6-8, 2-1) to town Saturday for a 6 pm tip-off. The Rockets are coming off a 79-56 shellacking at the hands of Western Michigan, but were the consensus favorite to win the MAC West. They are led by junior guard Rian Pearson’s 19.3 points per game.

Marlowe Alter is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

It was the same things that plagued Ohio in previous road losses to Robert Morris, Memphis and Massachusetts.  A bad stretch on offense coupled with a perimeter player from the other team catching fire. It’s a lethal combination that has led to monster runs by the opposition and has left Ohio in the dust.

This time in Norman, Okla., the opposing player who caught fire was Steve Pledger. The Sooner guard scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to help Oklahoma turn a close game into a comfortable 74-63 victory.

The Sooners went on runs of 12-3 and 15-2 in the second half, the latter one after Ohio had climbed to within four, to run away from the Bobcats. The loss dropped Ohio’s record to a disappointing 8-5 and 0-4 on the road.

“Too many live-ball turnovers. It’s the same stuff that’s been happening, we’ve just got to clean it up and get better,” said Ohio head coach Jim Christian.

Ohio was led by star point guard D.J. Cooper, who entered Saturday tied for fourth in the nation with 7.9 assists per game. Cooper scored 14 points and dished out seven dimes while Reggie Keely had 13 points and eight rebounds in his second-straight start. Walter Offutt hit three treys and finished with 11 points.

The Bobcats once again struggled to protect the ball, committing 18 turnovers, which led to 22 points for the Sooners. Ivo Baltic had six giveaways and Cooper had five, while Offutt and Ricardo Johnson each committed three.

Ohio started hot, hitting three of their first five shots from long range, including two from Cooper to take an early 17-12 lead. But just as they did in their three earlier road losses, Ohio hit a cold spell, missing seven-straight three-point attempts as the Sooners went on a 13-4 run to go in front 25-21.

Ohio was able to finish the half with a mini 8-4 run of their own, capped by a Baltic three to knot the game at 29 heading into the break.

The Bobcats held the Sooners to just 30 percent from the field in the first half, but committed 11 turnovers to keep Oklahoma in the game.

The Sooners opened the second half with a 12-3 burst to take a 41-32 lead before Pledger caught fire. The senior guard knocked down four-straight jumpers for nine points to keep Ohio at bay and extend the Sooners' largest lead of the game to 54-43.

Offutt kept the Bobcats close with two threes and a layup, and a dunk from Jon Smith brought Ohio to within four at 56-52 with seven minutes to play.

But Oklahoma responded with yet another colossal run, this one sparked by two dunks from Cameron Clark, as the Sooners went on a 15-2 run to grab a 17-point lead with three minutes left, sealing Ohio’s fate.

“You can’t turn the ball over the amount of times we’ve turned the ball over. You can’t not guard in key possessions. You can’t allow teams to get on those types of runs,” said a frustrated Christian. “For whatever reason we’re a lot more stagnant on the road, guys aren’t playing with as much confidence as they are at home. They almost rely on D.J. a little too much.”

The Bobcats shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the field but just 30.8 percent (8-of-26) from beyond the arc. Sharpshooter Nick Kellogg injured two fingers on his shooting hand vs. Massachusetts and has not made a field goal since.

Kellogg followed up his 0-6 shooting performance against Maryland-Eastern Shore with another 0-6 effort in this game, all from downtown. He was hitting 46 percent from long range (23-50) before going 0-11 over these last two games to drop to 37.7 percent for the season.

"For stretches we play really well and for stretches we lost it on the break—just simple basketball plays that we're not making," Christian said. "We're not valuing possessions," he added, while also mentioning a lack of practice time over Christmas break and conditioning issues as playing a part in the loss.

Ohio also failed to get to the free-throw line consistently while sending Oklahoma there all too often, which has become a dangerous trend of late. The Bobcats were just 5-7 from the charity stripe while the Sooners connected on 17-23. 

"It's hard. When you have success, I think sometimes you kind of take your eye off what you did and we're not playing very soundly, especially on the defensive end of the floor," Christian said. "I think that's hard for me because I don't have a history with these guys to go back to certain points. So, I've got to depend a lot on their leadership and their experiences. We've just got to keep working our way through it. We've just got to find a way."

With conference play 11 days away, Ohio must clean up its mistakes in a hurry. It will welcome Marshall (7-6) to the Convocation Center on Saturday to end a difficult non-conference schedule, before hosting Buffalo on January 9.

Notes: Oklahoma came into the game having won 36 of its last 37 and 94 of its last 97 non-conference home games….Baltic made a free throw for the first time since Feb. 22, 2012, a span of 22 games.

Marlowe Alter is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

After playing a grind-it-out brand of basketball in Saturday’s dreadful 50-49 loss to Winthrop, Ohio knew they would be in for a long night if they did not pick up the pace in Amherst.

In the season’s most exciting game, the Bobcats matched UMass’s frenetic pace but did not have an answer for Jesse Morgan, who put on a shooting clinic, scoring 35 points, including seven three-pointers as Massachusetts held off Ohio 85-76.

Morgan scored 16 points during the Minutemen’s gargantuan 23-1 first-half run that spanned just five minutes, to help turn a 12-point deficit into a 10-point lead.

Ohio’s backcourt came to play, led by D.J. Cooper’s 23 points and 10 assists (his third double-double in five games). Cooper moved past Geno Ford (’94-’97) into fifth place on the school’s all-time scoring list. Walter Offutt added 18 points (5-9 from deep) and Nick Kellogg chipped in 15, but the trio received little help from their frontcourt mates.

“We have to have more competition up front, and guys got to start being consistent up front…that really hurt us tonight,” said Christian.

Christian was likely referring to senior forwards Ivo Baltic and Reggie Keely, who combined for just eight points and nine turnovers. Baltic did dish out a career-high nine assists and added 10 rebounds, but it’s clear the Bobcats are relying too heavily on their perimeter play. But it wasn’t just their lack of scoring inside that hurt the Bobcats.

Ohio did not have an answer for Morgan or the rest of the Minutemen’s offense.

UMass was ranked 300th nationally, shooting a dreadful 39.4 percent from the field, including a 28.7 percent (307th) from long distance, but shot 48 percent from the field and hit on 9-24 attempts from deep (37.5 percent) in this contest.

It wasn’t all bad however. Ohio stormed out to a 13-4 lead after Offutt, Cooper and Kellogg hit consecutive threes and Offutt added a fourth to give Ohio an 18-6 lead just five minutes in. But UMass responded with a 23-1 run, keyed by Morgan’s incredible shooting. A technical foul on Cooper helped kick-start the run before Morgan got hot.

He scored six points to cut the lead in half and minutes later, hit a jumper to give UMass a 21-19 advantage, a lead they would never relinquish. Morgan sank three free throws after Kellogg fouled him shooting a three before the 6’5” junior guard from Philadelphia caught fire. He knocked down three consecutive bombs to stretch Massachusetts’ lead to 35-24, their largest of the half.

Offutt did his best to match Morgan, hitting four first-half threes as the Bobcats cut the lead to three before UMass closed the half on an 8-3 run to take a 48-40 lead at the break.

Ohio didn’t help their cause by committing 12 turnovers in the first half alone, just two below their season average of 13.8.

Ohio again came out of the locker room hot, tying the game at 55 on a Kadeem Green baby hook shot with 14:26 remaining. But that’s when Morgan decided it was time to take over again, hitting three more treys during a decisive 11-0 run.

But as they did all night, the Bobcats clawed back and four quick points from Kellogg brought Ohio to within six, 78-72 with four minutes left.

The Bobcats had a chance to get closer, but Offutt was careless with a dribble handoff and the ball bounced to half court where Maxie Esho picked it up and coasted in for a powerful one-hand slam. UMass knocked down enough free throws from there to pick up their third straight victory, while the Bobcats fell to 0-3 on the road.

After a promising 6-0 start (four of which were by 20 points or more), the Bobcats are in a rut, having lost four of their last five.

"We just have to put it all together where everyone’s playing together at the same time," said head coach Jim Christian during his post-game radio interview.

One positive sign was the play from Green. The sophomore forward, who transferred from Missouri last spring, played 12 minutes in his second game and scored eight points on 4-5 shooting.

"I thought he played well, which is good because he’s another guy that can compete,” said Christian on Green’s performance.

Even though Ohio has not been themselves over the past five games, Christian is not panicking…yet.

"We’ll be fine. We made strides tonight. We have to get a couple guys out of the (slump) that they’re in."

The Bobcats will look to right the ship against Maryland-Eastern Shore (0-10) on Saturday at the Convocation Center.

Notes: UMass was 24-35 from the foul line while Ohio was 6-10…After playing 622 minutes spanning 20 games, Baltic finally got to the free-throw line with 13:56 remaining. He proceeded to miss both attempts and still hasn’t made a free throw since February 22...For the third straight game, Jon Smith played 13 minutes or less and did not see the floor in the second half until the 4:58 mark.

They say basketball is a game of runs, and on Tuesday evening, Ohio went on the game’s biggest. The Bobcats used a 20-2 burst over the final 6:35 of the first half and held off a feisty Hampton squad down the stretch for a 75-67 victory.

Senior guard Walter Offutt had by far his best game of the season, leading the way with 23 points and three steals, while Ivo Baltic added 16 points and three blocks as the Bobcats improved to 4-0.

But for the first time on the young season, the Bobcats were challenged.

Ohio was out-rebounded 43-26 and gave up 20 offensive boards to the Pirates, who dropped to 0-3 with the loss.

“I think we just got punked,” said Baltic on the alarming rebounding disparity.  “I don’t think we were boxing out we were just going in there expecting to get the rebound.”

Ohio head coach Jim Christian said:

To me the season started tonight. We got tested. I give Hampton a lot of credit I thought they out-toughed us tonight on the glass, it wasn’t even close. We weren’t physical enough but at the same time we executed enough on the offensive end to win the game when we had to, so I give our team a lot of credit for that.

Christian can thank his seniors for this win. Along with Offutt and Baltic’s strong performances, star point guard D.J. Cooper chipped in 12 points, seven assists and three steals while Reggie Keely continued his strong play with eight points and six rebounds off the bench.

Offutt, who was averaging just 6.3 points while struggling with foul trouble in the first three games, scored 15 of his 23 in the first half, including 11 during the decisive 20-2 run. He was 13-15 from the foul line for the game, repeatedly attacking the rim like his usual self.

“It was just one of them games where they were pressing up on us a lot and I was able to get to the hole quite a bit to help my team,” said Offutt, who received a standing ovation from the Bobcat faithful when he headed to the bench for a few minutes of rest at the end of the half.

But Offutt’s dominance wasn’t limited to the offensive end. He drew several charges and continually sacrificed his body diving for loose balls. Offutt's effort helped the Bobcats force 24 turnovers.

The first half was back and forth for the first 14 minutes. Ohio established an early 17-12 lead thanks to its outside shooting prowess, but the Pirates responded with a 7-0 run of their own. Hampton played solid one-on-one defense and cut off penetration from the Ohio guards to stay in the game.

After trading baskets, the Bobcats finally found their groove late in the half. Cooper made a signature no-look pass to Keely for a layup, and Offutt added a three-point play during a 15-0 spurt as the Bobcats suddenly took a 39-25 lead.

The Bobcats continued to push the pace, running the fast break to perfection for a Baltic layup before the senior forward beat the buzzer with his second-corner three-pointer of the half. The 20-2 run opened up a 44-27 for Ohio heading to the break. The Bobcats turned 14 Pirates' turnovers into 21 first half points, however, Ohio was unable to sustain the momentum.

The Bobcats came out slow in the second half, turning the ball over four times in the first four-plus minutes as the Pirates climbed to within nine. Baltic and Keely then lost their cool, picking up technical fouls 35 seconds apart and allowing the Pirates to score six quick points. The fans showed their displeasure with the calls, booing the refs mercilessly for the rest of the game.

Hampton’s speed outside and strength inside allowed them to stay close the entire second half and climb to within 69-61 with 2:39 to play.

Baltic responded with a quick right-handed hook shot to give Ohio a 10-point lead and sealed the deal with a steal a minute later.

“We’re happy that we won but we’re disappointed with the way we played, especially on defense,” said Baltic.

The Bobcats will look to stay undefeated when they host Richmond (4-1) at the Convocation Center Saturday afternoon. The Spiders are coming off a six-point win over Wofford, who the Bobcats beat by 23 on Sunday.

Marlowe Alter is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

On a day that celebrated an historic 2011-2012 season, the Ohio Bobcats turned the page and ushered in a new era of Bobcat basketball with an 81-52 trouncing of the Portland Pilots. 

D.J. Cooper and Nick Kellogg led the Bobcats with 18 points apiece while Reggie Keely chipped in 13 points off the bench to give new head coach Jim Christian his first victory at Ohio. 

Christian, who came into the season with the highest-winning percentage in MAC league history after compiling a 138-58 record at Kent State from 2002-2008, earned his first victory, thanks in large part to a mammoth 21-4 run to start the second half, which allowed the Bobcats to break open a game that was tied at the break. 

“I was proud of the second half. We started playing the game the way we had been playing it. Guarded the way we are capable of guarding and took control of the pace of the game."

Like they did so many times last year, Ohio turned up the defensive pressure in the second half. They forced 11 turnovers while holding the Pilots to 19 points and an anemic 27.7 percent shooting from the field. 

The defense led to a flurry of fast-break points and open perimeter shots. As a result, the Bobcats to shot 61.5 percent in the second half. 

Before the game, the Bobcats unveiled their Sweet 16 banner, bringing the crowd to its feet in recognition of last year's school record 29 wins and run through the NCAA Tournament. 

But the pregame festivities may have played a role in Ohio’s slow start.

Portland jumped out to a 12-6 lead behind two fast break layups and missed opportunities from the Bobcats on the offensive end. Christian called timeout and lit a fire under his team. 

“Our team probably got caught up in the emotion of it in the first half," Christian acknowledged. "But like I said last week, I’m always interested in the response.” 

Christian sure loved his team’s response to the early deficit. 

Ohio, like it has in the past few seasons, used the three-ball to shoot their way back into the game.  Kellogg knocked down consecutive threes and Snow College transfer Travis Wilkins added another from the corner to spark a 13-4 run to give Ohio a 19-16 lead. 

Despite dreadful shooting from inside the arc, Ohio closed the half with five straight points from Cooper to knot the score at 33 at halftime. They shot 50 percent from long range but just 35 percent on two-point attempts. But the defense kept Ohio in the game, forcing 13 first-half turnovers leading to 18 points off Pilot miscues.

 “The most important thing for our team is that they don’t see panic,” said Christian of the first half woes. “You have to believe and have confidence in them. I was more disappointed in the fundamentals on defense.” 

“It’s only normal to get caught up in the emotion and feed off the hype,” said Kellogg on the first half struggles. “I think we did a better job in the second half of settling down and getting back to our game.” 

Preseason All-MAC first team selection Walter Offutt picked up two early fouls, forcing Christian to sit him for the final twelve minutes of the half. Offutt's absence may have contributed to the slow start. 

But with Offutt on the court to begin the second half, Ohio opened with a 21-4 run. Kellogg completed a four-point play, then added his fourth three-pointer of the game to open up a 17-point lead with 13:44 to play. 

“In the second half, these guys imposed their will and that’s what I’m proud of,” said Christian. “There’s a lot we’ll learn from this but at the end of the day, the only thing you want to do after one game is be 1-0.” 

Ohio will try to improve to 2-0 when it hosts UNC-Wilmington next Friday at 7:00 p.m.

Marlowe Alter is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Nick Kellogg hit four first-half threes and the Ohio Bobcats ushered in new head coach Jim Christian with an 82-42 drubbing of Division II Mercyhurst in their one and only exhibition game.

Playing for the first time since their run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament last March, the Bobcats were sloppy early on. They committed three turnovers in their first six possessions and looked out of sync, allowing Mercyhurst to stick around in the first five minutes.

“We got a little careless with the ball to start the game,” said Christian.

But as he did on many occasions last season, senior guard Walter Offutt took it upon himself to steady his team, hitting back-to-back threes out of the first television timeout spurring a 13-0 run, and a 30-7 extended run, to give the Bobcats a 40-17 halftime lead. Kellogg had four of the team’s seven first half treys.

Meanwhile, the defense was stellar, forcing 22 first half turnovers leading to several easy buckets in transition. They played aggressive and pressured the Lakers guards, leading to 31 turnovers for the game, while holding them to 27.3 percent shooting.

The Bobcats continued their dominance in the second half, scoring the first 11 points, including a fancy behind-the-back-dish from D.J. Cooper to T.J. Hall for a two-handed rim rocker.

Kellogg led a balanced offensive attack with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Reggie Kelly added 13 points off the bench and knocked down all seven of his free throw attempts. Cooper, the Bobcats all-time leader in assists and steals, chipped in seven points, nine assists and four steals.

“I think we have a lot of talented offensive players. As long we play right, it could be a different guy every night,” said Christian, when asked about the scoring distribution. “I don’t think we need to rely on one scorer. We had 20 assists tonight, which is the goal.”

One concern was the 12 first half turnovers. The Bobcats seemed to be pressing and forcing things early, but settled down in the second half, committing just four turnovers. Christian said he was alarmed by the early sloppiness but was pleased with his team’s decision making as the game progressed.

I’m always going to be more concerned with the response than I am the action. The response was second half better job limiting turnovers. The pace of our play was better that’s all I wanted to see…we’re still moving forward and building and that’s all we care about.

All 12 eligible Bobcats saw action, including Snow College transfer Travis Wilkins, who scored five points in 12 minutes.

With a season full of expectations and promise, Ohio was excited to finally get back to playing basketball.

“It felt really good to get out there. As a team as a unit again in front of our home fans it was great,” said Kellogg. “I think we’re picking up right where we left off. We’ll be ready next week.”

Ohio opens the season against Portland on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.  The Bobcats defeated the Pilots last season 72-54 in Oregon behind a triple-double from Cooper.  The 2011-12 team will be honored before the game with the unveiling of the Sweet 16 banner. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

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Marlowe Alter is a contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.