Sports
Late Sloppiness Dooms Bobcats
By: Duncan Goldberg
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A strong start and an early 12-point lead weren’t enough for the Ohio Bobcats (5-2) to hold off Jordan Washington and the Iona Gaels (6-3) in New Rochelle, N.Y. on Saturday.
The Bobcats dominated in the early part of the first half, only allowing two points during the first 5:38 of the game. The Gaels turned the tables in the second half though as they held the Bobcats scoreless for more than five minutes, which untimely led them to the 79-75 point victory over the Bobcats.
With 5:29 left in the game the Bobcats were up 70-65, but back to back 3-point buckets by junior Jan Svandrlik gave the Gaels a 71-70 lead they would never relinquish. The Bobcats came back to tie the game at 75 though and even had a chance to take the lead when down 76-75. A turnover by Jaaron Simmons and poor execution to foul on the defensive end with about 30 seconds left in the game though halted any comeback by the Bobcats.
The reason why the Gaels were able to even stay in this game was because of senior Jordan Washington, who dominated the paint all game long and finished with 30 points and six rebounds. He kept Iona in the game while other players struggled, but once other players started chipping in for the Gaels, it was hard for the Bobcats offense to keep up. In the first half, there were only five field goals made by players not named Jordan Washington.
Svandrlik had a huge second half performance and finished the night with 19 points and five boards for the Gaels. He was 5-6 from the 3-point line. E.J. Crawford also had a good night with 15 points and four rebounds.
For the Bobcats, it wasn’t a bad night offensively, but like their loss to Marshall; it was a bad night defensively, even after their great start on the defense end. Ohio allowed the Gaels to shoot 46.7 percent from the field, while only shooting 44.6 percent themselves. They also allowed the Gaels to get to the free throw line 19 times.
Even though the Bobcats lost, both Jaaron Simmons and Antonio Campbell had big games. Simmons ended the night with 22 points and four assists. Campbell was one rebound shy of a double-double as he has 16 points and nine boards.
The Bobcats will try to bounce back from the tough loss on Wednesday, December 14th at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center, as they will be hosting the University of Wisconson-Milwaukee.