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Ohio Guard AJ Brown smiles during a game against Marshall on Dec. 14. [WOUB Public Media]

Ohio Men’s Basketball falls to rival Marshall on the road, 79-70

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HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WOUB) — The Ohio Bobcats (4-6) strung together back-to-back wins at home against Robert Morris and Morehead State, respectively, to bounce back from a rough sixth-place finish in the Myrtle Beach Invitational. In the Bobcats’ first game away from home since the Myrtle Beach trip, a lot of the same problems came back up. Ohio fell to rival Marshall 79-70, moving to 1-6 away from Athens this season.

The first four minutes of the game always tend to be the most important of the game for Ohio to set the tone. After falling behind 10-8, it looked as if Ohio would need to win in a shootout in order to leave Huntington with a win. Marshall’s hot hand could not be stopped early, and seemingly all game. After the first half under-12 media timeout, Marshall was shooting a whopping 64% from the floor. Ohio kept it within striking distance for most of the first half, but a deep three-pointer from Mikal Dawson closed out the first half with Marshall in the lead, 41-33.

The Thundering Herd came out with an electric start to open the second half, jumping out to a 48-33 lead and forcing Ohio head coach Jeff Boals to quickly call a timeout. Ohio never truly recovered from this, as despite the team cutting the deficit to eight points in the half, the Bobcats could never get back into the game fully.

Defense has been an issue for Ohio most of the season, but rebounding was a strength for the Bobcats. The team held its own down low, something it has struggled to do against larger teams like Marshall. However, there was seemingly no answer for Dawson. Dawson scored 27 points on 9-12 shooting, including 6-9 from beyond the arc. Dawson was a familiar foe for Ohio, playing last season at Akron.

Ohio Guard AJ Brown smiles during a game against Marshall on Dec. 14. [WOUB Public Media]
AJ Brown has been coming into his own as a scorer this season, and he showcased his ability to create shots in the loss. Brown had a team-high in points with 22, along with 8-17 shooting. With Shereef Mitchell still out, Brown’s ability to score is helping a guard unit that has struggled to create its own shots so far this season.

With Mitchell, he’s been a scratch for most of the season. However, fans can expect his return to action in the team’s next game. Mitchell started the first two games of the season for Ohio, then suffered a right knee injury just before the team’s road trip to Illinois State and Memphis. Mitchell sat the first two games of the Myrtle Beach Invitational, then returned off the bench in the tournament’s final game. He reaggravated the injury finding a wet spot on the floor, and has been sidelined since.

Mitchell’s return to action will come in Ohio’s next game at home Wednesday night against Austin Peay, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.