Sports
Bobcats Blasted by Rockets
By: Duncan Goldberg
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The Ohio Bobcats (8-9, 1-4) fell to a red-hot Toledo Rockets (12-6, 4-1) 91-57 inside the Convocation Center Tuesday night.
Going into the game the Rockets were on a three game win streak and had won six out of their last seven games.
While the score looks lopsided, Ohio has been hampered by nagging injuries and ran into a team who may be the best in the Mid-American Conference, causing the outcome. For majority of the first half, the Bobcats were right there hanging with the Rockets, but when a team is in the midst of an injury bug, but the lack of depth caused the Rockets to pull away.
“I’ve never been in such a bad home loss. I’ll make sure it will never happen again,” head coach Saul Phillips said. “We came out tonight and clearly weren’t as interested in reversing the ball. It ultimately all falls on me because it’s my job that we do those things. That’s it.”
The Rockets were on fire all night long, and played quite possibly their best game of the season. Toledo shot 52 percent from the field and hit on 13-22 three-point attempts. The Rockets had five players hit at least two threes.
One of the guys that was apart of that group was their star Tre’Shaun Fletcher. Fletcher had a game-high 18 points, six boards and four assists, once again proving he is a candidate for MAC player of the year.
It was a tough game to watch for a Bobcat fan as both offense and defense struggled immensely, however it was not all bad for Ohio. There were a few bright spots for Ohio.
The first is Doug Taylor, who played his best game of the season. On the offensive end he was constantly crashing the boards and finding ways to create points. On the defensive side, he was contesting what seemed like every shot he was near in the paint. Taylor had 15 points, five rebounds and five blocks.
After the game, Taylor mentioned how he needs to be more of a leader vocally, and after a performance tonight, that is something that is expected.
The second is the belief this team has in their ability to be successful. Despite the bad loss, Ohio still believes in themselves and their ability to turn it around. Head coach Saul Phillips said he will do whatever it takes.
“There’s just some things I don’t have answers for right now,” said Phillips. “I’m interested in finding solutions, and I’ll do everything in my power to do that.”
“We are going to figure this out,” James Gollon said.
Ohio’s next chance to turn it around is on Saturday. Ohio travels to Ypsilanti, Michigan to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Tipoff is set for 2p.m.