OXFORD, Ohio - The Ohio University men's basketball team (14-5, 5-0 MAC) collected its sixth straight victory Wednesday night as it defeated Miami University (7-10, 2-3 MAC), 74-62, inside Millett Hall.
Ohio's win over the RedHawks marked the first time the 'Cats have opened league play 5-0 since the 1998-99 season. It also marks the first time since 2001-02 Ohio has won its first two MAC games on the road.
Senior guard D.J. Cooper led Ohio with 17 points, seven rebounds and a game-high nine assists, while junior guard Nick Kellogg added 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Senior forward Ivo Baltic recorded his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
During the game, Baltic became the 34th player in Ohio history to post 1,000 career points and also reached the 600-rebound plateau for his career.
The 'Cats shot better than 50 percent (.520; 26-50) for the sixth time in seven games and held Miami to just 34.9 percent (22-63) for the game. Ohio has now held its opponent under 40 percent shooting in five of the past six contests.
Ohio, which entered the game ranked first in the country in assists per game (19.4), posted 21 assists against the RedHawks. The 'Cats also connected on 12-of-25 3-pointers (.480).
Fact Box
WEST VIRGINIA 71, TCU 50
TCU (9-10)
Hill Jr. 0-4 0-0 0, Anderson 6-11 6-8 19, Butler Lind 1-2 0-1 3, Abron 1-2 0-0 2, Green 1-6 1-2 4, Crossland 5-7 1-6 11, Smith III 0-2 1-2 1, McKinney 3-9 4-4 10, Zurcher 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-44 13-23 50.
WEST VIRGINIA (9-9)
Hinds 4-11 0-0 10, Harris 5-6 7-10 19, Kilicli 5-10 1-4 11, Browne 0-1 1-2 1, Noreen 0-2 1-2 1, Rutledge 2-4 0-2 4, Staten 2-7 2-4 6, Brown 3-4 0-0 6, Henderson 1-6 1-2 4, Humphrey 0-2 1-2 1, Murray 3-4 2-3 8, Miles 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 16-31 71.
Halftime-West Virginia 35-22. 3-Point Goals-TCU 3-7 (Green 1-1, Butler Lind 1-1, Anderson 1-4, Zurcher 0-1), West Virginia 5-13 (Harris 2-3, Hinds 2-4, Henderson 1-4, Humphrey 0-2). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-TCU 30 (Crossland 7), West Virginia 42 (Kilicli, Rutledge 8). Assists-TCU 9 (Green 4), West Virginia 15 (Hinds 3). Total Fouls-TCU 23, West Virginia 23. A-7,094.
Southern Mississippi 102,
Marshall 46
MARSHALL
Yous Mbao 0-0 0-0 0, Elijah Pittman 4-12 6-9 16, Robert Goff 0-0 0-2 0, D.D. Scarver 1-5 1-2 4, DeAndre Kane 4-10 1-4 13, Jamir Hanner 2-4 4-9 8, Dennis Tinnon 1-3 0-2 2, Tamron Manning 0-0 0-0 0, Chris Martin 0-3 0-0 0, Nigel Spikes 1-2 1-3 3, JP Kambola 0-0 0-2 0; TOTALS: 13-39 13-33 46; 3-point goals: Pittman 2-6, Scarver 1-4, Kane 4-7, Tinnon 0-2, Martin 0-2
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
Dwayne Davis 7-11 2-4 19, Neil Watson 2-2 0-0 5, Jerrold Brooks 6-10 4-4 20, Daveon Boardingham 5-9 2-4 12, Jonathan Mills 2-4 3-4 7, Deon Edwin 0-0 0-0 0, Norville Carey 0-0 4-4 4, Cedric Jenkins 4-6 0-0 8, Rashard McGill 5-9 1-2 13, Michael Craig 4-4 2-2 10, Jamie Chapman 1-2 0-0 3, Christian Robbins 0-0 1-2 1; TOTALS: 36-57 19-26 102; 3-point goals: Davis 3-6, Watson 1-1, Brooks 4-6, Jenkins 0-2, McGill 2-3, Chapman 1-2
Shooting: M 13-39 (33.3%), SM 36-57 (63.2%); Rebounds: M 23 (Kane 4), SM 34 (McGill 7); Assists: M 9 (Scarver 3), SM 25 (Watson 9); Steals: M 9 (Tinnon 4), SM 20 (Davis, Brooks 4); Turnovers: M 31, SM 16; Halftime So. Miss. 53, Marshall 17
Otterbein 72,
Marietta College 62
MARIETTA COLLEGE (13-5, 9-2 OAC)
J.J. Martin 5-14 0-0 12, Jason Humphrey 1-1 1-2 3, Scott Kimmey 1-3 1-2 4, Tyler Hammond 4-10 2-4 10, Jacob Owens 3-12 0-0 7, Tyler Worstell 2-6 2-2 6, Brennan McKean 4-12 0-0 8, Luis Garcia 0-1 0-0 0, Andy Stegman 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Napier 0-0 2-2 2, Garrett Stephenson 4-8 2-2 10; TOTALS: 24-67 10-14 62; 3-point goals: Martin 2-9, Kimmey 1-3, Hammond 0-3, Owens 1-6, McKean 0-3, Stephenson 0-1
OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY (7-11, 4-7 OAC)
Max Van Meter 2-9 2-4 6, Zach Bakenhaster 4-7 2-2 10, Andy Yazrombek 2-5 5-5 9, Colin Echelberry 4-9 0-0 11, Jake Bischoff 9-13 3-4 26, Jason Davis 1-1 0-0 3, Derek Dicke 1-1 0-0 3, Tommy Waterwash 0-2 0-0 0, Jon Juergens 1-3 2-2 4, C.J. Julian 0-0 0-0 0, Kiley Gessner 0-0 0-0 0; TOTALS: 24-50 14-17 72; 3-point goals: Yazrombek 0-3, Echelberry 3-7, Bischoff 5-6, Davis 1-1, Dicke 1-1, Waterwash 0-1
Shooting: MC 24-67 (35.8%), OU 24-50 (48%); Rebounds: MC 35 (Martin 10), OU 38 (Van Meter 8); Assists: MC 6 (Hammond, Worstell 2), OU 16 (Yazrombek 8); Steals: MC 13 (Martin, Humphrey 3), OU 5 (Bakenhaster 2); Turnovers: MC 13; OU 20; Halftime score: Otterbein 35, Marietta 27
OHIO 74, MIAMI (OHIO) 62
OHIO (14-5)
Baltic 6-8 0-2 13, Keely 2-2 1-2 5, Offutt 1-5 3-4 6, Cooper 5-11 4-7 17, Kellogg 5-9 0-0 15, Green 1-1 0-0 2, Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 2-6 0-0 4, Smith 2-4 0-0 4, Taylor 0-1 2-4 2, Wilkins 2-3 0-0 6. Totals 26-50 10-19 74.
MIAMI (OHIO) (7-10)
Felder 7-11 5-7 19, Harris 1-8 1-2 3, Rollins 2-5 0-0 4, Roberts 4-12 4-6 14, Sullivan 0-2 0-0 0, McKnight 3-8 4-4 11, Sewell 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 2-9 1-2 5, McGhee 1-5 0-0 2, Legarza 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-63 15-21 62.
Halftime-Ohio 36-29. 3-Point Goals-Ohio 12-25 (Kellogg 5-7, Cooper 3-8, Wilkins 2-3, Baltic 1-2, Offutt 1-4, Taylor 0-1), Miami (Ohio) 3-17 (Roberts 2-6, McKnight 1-1, Felder 0-1, Sewell 0-1, Johnson 0-3, Harris 0-5). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Ohio 36 (Baltic 12), Miami (Ohio) 36 (Felder 10). Assists-Ohio 21 (Cooper 9), Miami (Ohio) 10 (Rollins 3). Total Fouls-Ohio 19, Miami (Ohio) 19. A-2,202.
Otterbein 72, Marietta College 62
WESTERVILLE, Ohio - Marietta College shot less than 36 percent from the field and Otterbein canned 10 3-pointers here Wednesday en route to pulling a 72-62 Ohio Athletic Conference upset of the Pioneers.
Jake Bischoff drained 5 of 6 from downtown and led all scorers for the victors. Otterbein (7-11, 4-7) led 35-27 at halftime and also received 11 points from Colin Echelberry and 10 markers from Zach Bakenhaster.
MC's J.J. Martin collected a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Tyler Hammond chipped in 10 points for the Pioneers (13-5, 9-2).
South Mississippi 102, Marshall 46
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Marshall men's basketball team's road winless streak climbed to six in demoralizing fashion Wednesday night as the Herd had no answer for Southern Mississippi during a 102-46 loss.
It was the Thundering Herd's (9-10, 2-2 Conference USA) fourth straight double-digit road loss. Marshall already had lost by 28 at Kentucky, by 37 at Ohio and by 11 at the University of Texas at El Paso. Wednesday's loss eclipses the Ohio loss as the worst in Marshall coach Tom Herrion's career. The Herd has lost five of its last seven
"We did not compete from the tip to the buzzer," Herrion said after the game. "I apologize to our fans. We never gave ourselves a chance. It was a lack of competitiveness from the first guy to the last, totally from top to bottom, and that starts with me."
Elijah Pittman led Marshall with 16 points and DeAndre Kane added 13, but the Herd was never in the game.
Marshall opened the scoring with an Elijah Pittman 3-pointer 19 seconds in, but the Golden Eagles (16-4, 5-0 C-USA) pummeled the Herd after that, going on a 47-4 run to lead by as many as 40 with six minutes to play in the first half. Marshall trailed by as many as 51 in the game.
The Herd had a dismal night in every aspect of the scoresheet. Marshall shot 13 for 39 (33.3 percent) from the floor, 7 for 21 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range and 13 for 33 (39.4 percent) from the free-throw line. The Eagles outrebounded Marshall 34-23 and forced the Herd into a season-high 31 turnovers. "That's as bad a butt-kicking I've ever taken as a coach," Herrion said. "That's something we need to get corrected, and real quick. That's an awful performance from our group and I take the blame for that."
The Eagles, who had one player, Dwayne Davis, averaging double digits entering Wednesday's game, had five in double digits against Marshall.
Jerrold Brooks scored 20 points, while Davis added 19, Rashard McGill scored 13, Daveon Bordingham scored 12 and Michael Craig scored 10. The Herd will stay on the road, travelling from Hattiesburg straight to Memphis, Tenn., for a 2 p.m. Saturday matchup with Memphis.
The Tigers (15-3, 4-0 C-USA) overcame a 15-point first-half deficit Tuesday night to beat Tulane 71-60 and win their ninth straight game.
