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Kellogg scores 25 points to lead short-handed Bobcats past Falcons

Ohio improves to 6-2 in MAC road games


Lonnie McMillan Photo
BOWLING GREEN – Coming off two straight home losses and with three starters out of the lineup, Ohio’s season seemed to be falling apart, but the road warrior Bobcats came through Tuesday night with a 72-61 victory against Bowling Green at the Stroh Center.

Coming off a two-point performance in a loss to Kent State, Nick Kellogg scored 25 points against the Falcons. Javarez Willis, playing all but four minutes in place of the injured Stevie Taylor, scored 16 points and had five assists, and Antonio Campbell, starting for Maurice Ndour, finished with 11 points and four rebounds.

“Our team is very resilient,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “Our team never quits though injuries and all the other stuff. Not many teams this late in the year miss three starters and win on the road. Not many teams can.”

Ricardo Johnson has been out since the beginning of January, while Taylor has seen only limited playing time recently and only four minutes against the Falcons. A nagging injury that has slowed Ndour for the last couple of weeks finally took him out of the lineup, while TJ Hall continues to play through an injury.

But through all of that, the Bobcats (20-10, 10-7 Mid-American Conference) were in control throughout the contest against the Falcons (12-18, 6-11 MAC). Kellogg hit two free throws with 8:30 left in the first half to put Ohio up 16-15 and Bowling Green never led again.

“I just told the guys, ‘Lock in right from the beginning,’ and everybody stepped up,” Christian said. “We got some great minutes from guys off the bench. … We did the things we needed to do – not turn it over at a high rate. All the things we need to do, I wish we could do it every night.”

Kellogg’s free throws were the start of a 10-0 run. He added a jumper and Jon Smith hit two straight shots before a dunk by Campbell made it 24-15 in favor of the Bobcats.

Lonnie McMillan Photo
Late in the half, Travis Wilkins and Campbell hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Bobcats a 33-21 lead the break.

“If you talk to Coach Christian, he’ll tell you my last year in AAU, I didn’t play in the paint at all,” Campbell said. “I was just shooting 3s coming down the court every single time and making them. I thought with the shot clock running down, it was a great time to shoot the 3-ball.”

Another big run early in the second half put the Bobcats in command. Wilkins hit 3-pointers with a Campbell layup in between to give Ohio a 46-29 lead less than four minutes into the half. The run came even with Kellogg, who scored 14 points in the first half, on the bench after he picked up his third foul less than a minute into the second half.

Willis answered a 6-0 Bowling Green run with a 3-pointer and he had another timely shot from downtown after the Falcons cut their deficit to 10 with seven minutes remaining.

“Bean’s been unbelievable,” Kellogg said. “He shot the ball well. He handled the ball really well. He made some really good passes. He made some really big plays all around and that’s big for us with Stevie out and him playing the kind of minutes he’s playing.”

It was Kellogg who put the game on ice in the end. Anthony Henderson’s steal and dunk got the Falcons to within 65-58 with 1:27 remaining, but Kellogg attacked Bowling Green’s pressure and got a three-point play. He added two more free throws and another layup in the final minute.

The performance followed an 0-for-6 game against the Golden Flashes on Saturday.

“It’s just one of those bounce-back deals,” Kellogg said. “It’s funny because my dad always told me a story when he was in college. I forget who he was playing but he had like two points and just like me, he came back and had like 38. Anytime I have a bad game, I have it in the back of my mind. I go out hungry the next game and just leave that behind.”

Despite some struggles against zone defenses in the past, the Bobcats shot 50 percent in the first half and improved on that to 68.4 percent in the second half. The Falcons finished the game at 44.9 percent from the field.

Richaun Holmes led the Falcons with 20 points and five rebounds. Henderson scored 12 points and Spencer Parker finished with 11 points.

Akron, whose health situation has improved, defeated Buffalo to stay a game ahead of Ohio for the No. 4 ranking overall in the MAC. The top four seeds receive two byes into the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament, while the rest of the league has to win five games in six days to claim the championship. The Bobcats still can get the No. 4 seed with a win in their final game and a loss by the Zips.

Who will be available for Ohio’s regular season finale Saturday against Miami still is up in the air.

“We’ve got a few days now,” Christian said. “Playing on a Tuesday is great because now we have that extra day and maybe (Ndour) will be ready to go on Saturday. Those are all game-time decisions with Stevie, Maurice, TJ. I don’t know. I wish I could tell you. I have no idea before a game how many minutes a guy can go and during the game.”

Ohio takes on Miami at 12 p.m. Saturday at Millet Hall.

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Photos  (BobcatAttack.com)







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