Ohio was embarrassed the last time they took on the Buffalo Bulls. And when I say, embarrassed, I mean really embarrassed. Earlier in the season, Ohio blew an 18 point lead at home and fell to Buffalo 73-68. This time around, things went to the contrary. Down by eight at the half, Ohio dominated in the second half as they defeated UB 76-69.
UB was ahead the entire first half as they entered halftime up 32-24. Ohio had trouble doing anything on the offensive side of the ball in the first half and couldn't maintain any legitimate runs.
In the second half, the game took a 180 degrees turn.
Ohio was dominant on offense as they scored 52 points in the second half. Ivo Baltic and D.J. Cooper couldn't be stopped.
With that being said, the game remained close to the very end.
Ohio slowly ate at UB's lead only to have UB respond with mini-runs of their own to regain control of the game almost every time.
Then, late in the second half, Ohio finally stopped UB from going on one of their mini-runs and took the lead.
Ohio would add onto the lead and take it all the way up to seven points as they went on to win 76-69.
Ivo Baltic continued his good play as of late as he scored 24 points and recorded 9 rebounds. He was a force and UB couldn't stop him in the second half.
D.J. Cooper also had a great game for the Bobcats as he too scored 24 points while recording 5 assists.
Ironically, besides Baltic and Cooper both scoring 24 points, they both also shot 8-15 from the field.
The win brings Ohio back to .500 on the season overall and in the MAC as they move to 13-13 (6-6).
This win was very important for Ohio. It is a statement win on the road against a legitimate MAC contender. This shows that Ohio is starting to regroup and may have the potential to make a run in the MAC tourney in March.
Ohio has won five of its last seven games.
Ohio next plays February 19th at Winthrop as part of the espnu bracketbusters series.
Attendance: 1,962
Ohio's Record: 13-13 (6-6)
Interesting Note: Both Ohio and UB shot 50.9% from the field
Key Stat: Both Baltic and Cooper scored 24 points
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