Sports
Ohio splits season series with Miami following Battle of the Bricks victory
By: Andrew Bowlby
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – The Month of March always amplifies college basketball games. But when you start the sport’s most important month with a chance to beat a rival, it’s means that much more.
“You have to have an urgency every single game,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said. “You’ve got to play desperate; you can’t let the other team come out and play harder than you.”
And Ohio (16-13, 10-6 MAC) didn’t let Miami (21-8, 12-4 MAC) outplay them Saturday afternoon in a Battle of the Bricks victory 75-66.
Miami landed the first punch with back-to-back Eian Elmer triples helping the RedHawks get off to a 12-4 lead in the opening minutes. Ohio slowed the momentum when Vic Searls converted an and-one. Searls put together a strong afternoon with much of his scoring coming in the second half.
Shereef Mitchell then started working for the Bobcats and scored six points for Ohio, and in combination with an AJ Brown three, the game was leveled at 15.
Midway through the first half, AJ Clayton found his first points of the afternoon with a layup assisted by Brown. Although his work in the post was matched by that of Antwone Woolfolk. He led Miami with nine points in the first half and kept the RedHawks offense flowing.
Peter Suder made a three for Miami to pull his team to trailing just 31-28, but from that moment until the end of the first half Ohio began to stretch its lead. Clayton and Elijah Elliott both made long threes and had the Bobcats heading to the halftime break up 40-33.
Ohio did end the first half without Brown because of an injury he sustained with about eight minutes remaining on the clock.
“Didn’t look good, we’ll see how it reacts tomorrow,” Boals said on the injury to his guard.
Things went from bad to worse on the side of injuries as Elliott was throwing up at halftime and missed a decent amount of the second half.
The second half did get off to a strong start with Clayton knocking down another big shot. He finished the game with 20 points, marking the first time he reached 20 points since Jan. 11 vs Northern Illinois.
In addition to the perimeter shooting, Clayton also played a big role generating offense from the post. Ohio got help from Searls as well down low, particularly in the second half.
Searls capped the day with 13 points, the second most in a game this season, and made strong contributions in the paint.
“I feel like I’ve always had it in me. I just needed it to come out during a game,” Searls said. “It took longer into the season than I wish it would have but that’s the kind of game I was used to having.”
Even though the Bobcats were ahead in the second, they never fully put the RedHawks away. Miami was able to stick around until the very end because of Ohio turnovers. However, the Bobcats defense was stellar and limited the No. 1 shooting team in the MAC to 43% from the field and 28% from deep.
Saturday marked the Bobcats 10th win over Miami in the last 12 meetings and makes up for the disappointing loss Ohio suffered in Oxford back on Feb. 1.
“It’s kind of a natural rivalry. It was big when I played, when I played there were some really good Miami teams,” Boals said. “I had a text from somebody who drove up from Austin, Texas just to see this game so it means something to a lot of people.”
And the win also means a lot for Ohio as it continues to fight for seeding in the MAC Tournament. With games against Eastern Michigan and Toledo looming next week, Ohio will fight to climb the standings and take the No. 3 seed.