Sports
Ohio Men’s Basketball: Bobcats prevail in Nail-Biting finish against Buffalo
By: Chloe Workman
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It seemed like the Bobcats controlled most of the game up until the very end.
In the beginning, they pushed the Bulls for a five minute and 26 second scoring drought, while going on a 13-0 run of their own.
By halftime, the Bobcats had held their lead and dominated the game, 41-32.
They kept it that way until the final minutes of the match up. With just 38 seconds to go the Bulls snagged the lead for the first time since the score was at 5-4.
Ohio responded, thanks to Dwight Wilson III, who snagged the lead right back with a put-back layup with 22 seconds left.
The Bulls still had a chance. With time running out they passed the ball until it landed in the hands of Ronaldo Segu. Segu pulls up beyond the three but ultimately is just shy of a game winner.
Ohio (10-6, 6-4 MAC) defeats Buffalo (6-6, 4-4) on the road with a final score of 76-75.
It is known that Buffalo is a second half team, and that was proven to be true on Friday night. For a team that has won four of the last five Mid-American Conference titles, this season seems to be full of struggles for the squad. Sitting now at .500 in the conference the team seems to always find themselves down too far in the first half.
As for the Bobcats, they struck early, and they struck often. Wilson led the way with 21 points. Ben Roderick was close behind with 17. Roderick is a key player for the ‘Cats who keeps improving every single year.
Jason Preston continued to build his NBA resume. Scoring 14 points, he also chipped in with nine rebounds, a team best.
For two players this game feels much more like a rivalry. Buffalo’s Jayvon Graves and Ohio’s Lunden McDay come St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, a school that is notorious for its basketball players, including Lebron James. Graves finished with a team-leading 18 points for Buffalo, while McDay chipped in 10 points for Ohio.
The Bobcats are building a good case for themselves this season, although they have faced some minor setbacks at times.
The Bobcats and Bulls are scheduled to meet again on Saturday, February 27, Buffalo looking to even
the score.
Ohio will travel up to Central Michigan on Tuesday to face off with the Chippewas in Mount Pleasant.
