Sports
Ohio Men’s Basketball bounces back, takes care of business in home opener
By: Joshua Hoerner
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Following a loss to James Madison on Monday, the Ohio Bobcat’s Men’s Basketball team were looking to get their first win in the team’s home opener against the UNC Asheville Bulldogs. The Bobcats did just that hanging on to win 82-76.
Despite a strong performance from the Bobcat’s five starters, Ohio dropped to the Dukes 78-88. However, a strong shooting percentage in the second half brought Ohio within reach of James Madison.
The Convocation Center was packed, the Marching 110 was ready and just like that, tip off in the Convocation Center for the first time this season.
The Bulldogs used a press to their advantage early on. The press sped up the Ohio offense and made the Bobcats settle for shots early in the shot-clock. Despite this, Shereef Mitchell was able to find driving lanes early on and had an early seven points to lead the Bobcats.
Ohio was able to find more success behind the arc. AJ Clayton had two three-pointers in the first ten minutes as the Bobcats were starting to find their offensive rhythm. Josh Banks led the Bulldogs with nine points, all from behind the arc.
Ohio’s offense caught fire. Before the third media timeout, the Bobcats had hit seven of their last nine shots from the field and had built up an eight-point lead.
The Bobcats held onto that eight-point lead going into halftime. AJ Clayton led all scorers with 10 points, with Josh Banks leading the Bulldogs with nine.
Ohio shot 43.8% from the field in the half, which wasn’t as good as the second half against James Madison. However, they held UNC Asheville to a 40.6% shooting percentage and forced seven turnovers in the half.
However, the second half was a different story. Ohio had plenty of opportunities to pull away from UNC Asheville but couldn’t find a way to do so. By head coach Jeff Boals reaction on the sideline, it felt like the Bobcats were waiting to build a comfortable lead.
The Bulldogs did not go away and kept chipping at the Ohio lead. Solomon, Banks and Fletcher Abee all were in double figures in the second half. Ohio held onto a five-point lead with three minutes left in the contest, thanks to 17 points from AJ Clayton.
Ohio’s defense stood tall in the final stretch of the contest. A big shot clock violation and a stop two plays later pulled the Bobcat’s closer to victory. A monstrous AJ Clayton slam dunk put Ohio up seven with 41 seconds left.
The Bobcats would take home the victory 82-76. Playing in-front of the home crowd was a big boost for Ohio and head coach Jeff Boals credited the crowd in the victory.
A couple of noticeable improvements for the Bobcats lie in the rebounding category. After getting outrebounded 41-23 against the Dukes, the Bobcats came back and won the battle 40-35 against the Bulldogs.
AJ Clayton led the way for the Bobcats with 19 points and three blocks on the defensive end. Alongside Clayton, Ohio had four other players in double figures.
For the Bulldogs, Fletcher Abee and Josh Banks each had 20 points. Toyaz Solomon followed up with 14.
Ohio’s next two games come on the road against Illinois State and Memphis. The game against the Tigers is more than likely to be the Bobcat’s biggest test of the season.
For UNC Asheville, their next contest is on the road against North Florida.