Sports
Ohio Returns Home To Take On Longwood
By: Michael Drapcho
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The Ohio Bobcats (8-3) will look to shake off the holiday rust Monday when they take on the Longwood Lancers (5-8) at home.
Ohio is coming off a thrilling 70-69 overtime road win over the Richmond Spiders. The Bobcats played impressive defense in the game, holding Richmond scoreless for nearly 10 minutes. That scoreless stretch allowed Ohio to claw its way back into the game and eventually take the lead.
Richmond guard Kendall Anthony sent the game into overtime when he hit a mid-range jumpshot to tie the game at 61-61. The two teams traded baskets and traded leads in overtime until Nick Kellogg hit a fade away 3-pointer to give Ohio the 70-69 lead with 7.3 seconds left.
Richmond raced down court and had several attempts to win the game. However, the Spiders could not convert any of the attempts, and the Bobcats held on and won.
Ohio’s next opponent should not prove to be as tough as the Spiders, however. Longwood enters its matchup with Ohio with five wins. Four of those wins came against non-Division I opponents.
The one win against a Division I opponent was an impressive as it came against a TCU squad that currently holds an 8-3 record. Tristan Carey led the Lancers in the game, scoring 31 points and grabbing six rebounds. The 6-foot-4 guard has been the catalyst for Longwood all season, averaging nearly 20 points and 7 rebounds a game. Carey shoots the ball extremely well from 3-point range as he shoots it at a 43 percent clip from deep.
Longwood does a pretty good job of putting points on the board as the team averages nearly 75 points per contest. The team does struggle with stopping its opponents, though. In their eight losses this season, the Lancers have given up an average of 82 points per game, so scoring will be one key for Ohio in the game.
Another key for Ohio will be rebounding. Longwood is currently ranked 320th in the nation in rebounds per game. Ohio has done a solid job on the glass this season, so keeping the usual effort on the glass will go a long way towards a Bobcat victory.
This game is more about Ohio than it is about Longwood. The Bobcats are the more talented team. However, they are coming off an eight day break, so they still need to be sharp and execute well in order to avoid the upset.
Ohio and Longwood are set to tip off at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center on Monday.