Sports
Ohio Men’s Basketball: Bobcat Offense Spoils Convo Celebration
By: Taylor Jedrzejek
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The atmosphere in the Convocation Center was electric. Fans packed the seats and Bobcat basketball alumni returned to Athens for the Convo’s 50th Anniversary Celebration.
However, as has become the norm this season, the Ohio offense struggled to keep the celebration going.
The Bobcats (11-10, 3-6 MAC) came out of the gate slow and never recovered, falling to Akron (13-8, 5-3 MAC) 65-53 in a game Ohio never held a lead.
“It hurt me really bad to see the score, see the crowd. I feel like me and the team let everybody down,” Bobcat senior Doug Taylor said. “We should have put on a better show for the people that came out.”
Ohio started the game off 1-of-12 from the field in the first 8:04 and found themselves trailing the Zips by twelve midway through the first half.
“It was very sloppy. We have to be more prepared to start a game,” Taylor said.
The Bobcats were able to cut the Akron lead to three, 19-16, with just under six minutes to play in the first half, but once again saw their offense go cold. The Zips closed the half on an 11-6 run and Ohio never got any closer than a seven point deficit the rest of the game.
“We were tentative tonight offensively,” Ohio head coach Saul Phillips said. “I thought we had some guys passing up some good shots at times. As you’re growing as a team, sometimes you get into those ruts where you’re having a hard time trying to figure out where and when to assert yourself into the offense.”
The Bobcat offense came out of the locker room at halftime with more success than they had seen in the first half, but so did the Akron offense. The Zips scored 15 points in the first 5:07 and their lead ballooned to 15 points, 45-30.
Akron made four of their first five three point attempts of the second half, effectively putting the game out of reach for the Bobcats.
As the pressure mounted on the ‘Cats, so did the deficit. Breakdowns on the offensive end turned in to breakdowns on the defensive end and Akron was able to push their lead out to 26, 60-34, with 9:32 left in the game.
“When shots aren’t going in, it’s just like ‘man…’,” Bobcat forward Jason Carter said. “You’re just thinking about the last possession and we can’t allow ourselves to do that. We have to get back and play some defense and use that defense to create some offense.”
Despite Akron only scoring five points over the final 9:32, the Bobcats were never within range to make the Zips sweat.
Carter led the Bobcats with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Teyvion Kirk was the next highest scorer for Ohio with 9 points. Kirk also tallied 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Akron had three players finish in double figures with Jimond Ivey leading the way with his game-high 21 point performance. Daniel Utomi added 14 while Loren Christian Jackson tossed in 12.
“We’ve got a week. We need to figure out a different way to crack this (offensive) shell,” Phillips said. “The last two games, it didn’t work too well. But one thing I do know is that things are never as good or as bad as they appear. We’ll pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and get back at it.”
Ohio’s next game will be next Saturday in Oxford with the Bobcats take on the RedHawks for the first iteration of this year’s Battle of the Bricks. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.