Sports
Instant Reaction: Ohio Defeats Hampton 75-67
< < Back to instant-reaction-ohio-defeats-hampton-75-67The Ohio men’s basketball team came into tonight’s game versus Hampton riding high with a three-game winning streak to start the season. In a frustrating game for both teams, Ohio managed to outlast Hampton 75-67 for the ‘Cats fourth straight victory on the season behind the play of senior guard Walter Offutt.
First Half:
With guard Nick Kellogg in foul trouble early, the ‘Cats struggled to gain any form of stability early on in the first half. A sloppy game of back and forth saw the lead change seven times before Offutt nailed a three with under seven minutes left in the half to give the ‘Cats a 27-25 lead.
Offutt would nail another three and helped spark a 15-0 run that saw Ohio leading 39-25 with two minutes left in the half. A buzzer-beating three right before the half by Ivo Baltic gave the ‘Cats a 44-27 lead to end the half. Offutt and Baltic shined leading the team with 23 and 16 points respectively.
Second Half:
A bevy of turnovers and less than stellar defense by Ohio led off the second half. Ohio scored its first points of the half at 17:26 with a pair of free throws to put the ‘Cats up 46-30. After playing only seven minutes in the first half due to foul trouble Kellogg picked up his fourth foul of the game with just over 15 minutes left in the second half.
A series of fouls, 15 total in the first eight minutes of the half, slowed the game down to a snail’s pace in the start of the second half. A series of technical fouls on Ohio ignited the crowd and allowed Hampton to cut the lead to as low as nine throughout the second half, but Ohio kept the Pirates at bay to beat them 75-67.
Game-Changer:
Senior guard Walter Offutt nailed a big time three late in the first half to give the game its seventh lead change. Offutt followed it up with another three a few seconds later to park what was eventually a 15-0 run. Before Offutt nailed his lead changing three he had scored two points in 12 minutes. Offutt finished the game with 23 points, going 13-15 from the free throw line.
Foul Trouble:
A total of 45 fouls were called in the game, with Hampton picking up 25 of them. Both coaching staffs were visibly frustrated and the Ohio crowd ripped into the refs. Nick Kellogg and Jon Smith both had four fouls in the game. Kellogg was in foul trouble early and managed to only get 14 minutes in the game.
Rebounding:
Ohio continued to struggle on the boards, being out rebounded by the Pirates 43-26. Hampton’s David Bruce led the way for the pirates picking up 12 boards on the night and adding 20 points to his performance.
Key Quote:
Ivo Baltic on being out rebounded by 17: “I think we just got punked. I don’t think we were boxing out. I think we were just going in there and expecting to get the ball.
Coming Up Next:
Ohio’s next game won’t be until this Saturday when the welcome the Richmond Spiders (4-1) to the Convo at 2 p.m. The Spiders are led by guard Darien Brothers, who averages 19.5 points per game.