Baltic, Ohio knock off Northern Iowa 76-59

CEDAR FALLS - Ivo Baltic scored a season-high 22 points as Ohio knocked off Northern Iowa 76-59 Tuesday night in a showdown of strong mid-major programs.

The Bobcats (10-1) are off to their best start since the 1940-41 team opened 11-1 en route to a runner-up finish in the NIT. Ohio has also started 5-0 in road/neutral site games for the first time since 1920-21.

D.J. Cooper added 13 points and his 200th career steal for the Bobcats, while Nick Kellogg had 11 points and five assists.

Northern Iowa (10-2), which had its nine-game winning streak snapped, got 15 points from Jake Koch, 11 from Anthony James and 10 from Marc Sonnen. The Panthers struggled from the field, shooting 35 percent.

Ohio, meanwhile, shot 52 percent from the field, including 11 of 21 on 3-point attempts.

Baltic had 16 of his 22 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer that gave the Bobcats a 39-21 lead. Ohio was on top 44-32 lead at the break.

OHIO (10-1)

Offutt 2-3 0-1 6, Cooper 5-12 1-2 13, Kellogg 4-7 0-0 11, Smith 0-1 1-2 1, Baltic 10-14 0-0 22, Goff 0-0 0-0 0, McKinley 0-0 0-0 0, Hall 3-8 2-2 10, Johnson 1-2 0-1 2, Taylor 0-3 0-0 0, Keely 4-6 1-1 9, Goard 1-2 0-0 2, Belton 0-0 0-0 0, Jacobs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-58 5-9 76.

N. IOWA (10-2)

Mitchell 1-5 0-0 2, Tuttle 0-0 5-6 5, Moran 1-5 0-0 3, Koch 5-11 4-6 15, James 3-12 3-4 11, Rank 3-6 0-0 6, Singleton 0-0 0-0 0, Morrison 0-0 0-0 0, Sonnen 4-6 0-0 10, Martino 0-0 0-0 0, Pehl 2-9 3-4 7, Lange 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 15-20 59.

Halftime_Ohio 44-32. 3-Point Goals_Ohio 11-21 (Kellogg 3-5, Offutt 2-2, Baltic 2-2, Hall 2-4, Cooper 2-6, Taylor 0-2), N. Iowa 6-20 (Sonnen 2-4, James 2-6, Koch 1-3, Moran 1-4, Mitchell 0-1, Rank 0-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Ohio 37 (Johnson 5), N. Iowa 32 (Koch 6). Assists_Ohio 15 (Kellogg 5), N. Iowa 11 (Koch 3). Total Fouls_Ohio 16, N. Iowa 13. A_3,486.