Nov. 13, 2009

Final Stats |  Quotes

ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men’s basketball team opened the 2009-2010 season with a decisive 101-72 victory over Ohio Valley on Friday night at the Convo.

Ohio’s offensive dominance was predicated on complete control of the boards and the ability to convert rebounds into second chance points. The Bobcats out-rebounded the Fighting Scots by a margin of 63-25, including 34 offensive rebounds, leading to as many second-chance points.

In his first official collegiate basketball game, freshman point guard D.J. Cooper (Chicago, Ill.) finished just three rebounds shy of one of the most elusive stats in the sport – a triple-double.

Cooper finished with 13 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds, adding three steals in 32 minutes of action.

Their first win proved to be the balanced attack second-year Head Coach John Groce was looking for, as five players finished in double-figures and seven players finished with six or more rebounds.

Freshman Ivo Baltic (Kansas City, Mo.) took top honors as leading scorer with 20 points. Baltic, who shot eight of 10 from the field and pulled down eight rebounds, scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half.

Junior guard Tommy Freeman (Muncie, Ind.) scored 18 points and added a career-high six rebounds. All of the upperclassman’s points came from behind the three-point line, where Freeman was six for 10 on the night.

Freshman Reggie Keely (University Heights, Ohio), who had been the Bobcats leading scorer in a pair of exhibition games earlier this season, scored 15 points while adding six rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Junior DeVaughn Washington (Virginia Beach, Va) and senior Kenneth van Kempen (Wert, the Netherlands) also finished just shy of double-doubles to start the season. Washington scored 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds, while van Kempen matched eight points with a career-high 10 rebounds.

Redshirt junior Asown Sayles (McKeesport, Pa.) made his return for the Bobcats after missing the 2008-09 campaign following shoulder surgery. Sayles finished the contest with nine rebounds and four points. Freshman walk-on David McKinley (Dublin, Ohio) scored eight points and added two assists and two steals in his debut.

A put back from walkon Adetunji Adedipe (Orange Village, Ohio) following a missed free throw from Baltic pushed the Bobcats past the century mark with just over a minute remaining in the game, marking the first time Ohio had scored more than 100 points under Groce. Ohio last scored more than 100 points in a 102-89 win against Cornell at the Convo on Nov. 17, 2007.

Ohio will welcome Middle Tennessee State University to the Convo on Sunday, Nov. 15. Gametime is set for 4 p.m. Live stats and streaming audio/video for the game is also available at OhioBobcats.com.