Sports
Bobcats can’t overcome shooting slump in loss to Eastern Michigan
By: Darayus Sethna
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – It wasn’t meant to be for head coach Jeff Boals and his Ohio Bobcats (16-14, 10-7 MAC) in their final home game of the 2024-25 season on Tuesday. The green and white fell to the Eastern Michigan Eagles in an 83-79 contest.
“You want to send your seniors out the right way,” Boals said after the game. “But we just came up short.”
Early Shooting Woes Put Bobcats in Hole
Boals and the team celebrated senior night before the game, honoring staff members as well as three players – Vic Searls, Shereef Mitchell, and A.J. Clayton.
There was little to celebrate once the game started, however. Ohio’s offense struggled mightily for most of the first half. At one point, the Bobcats were shooting just 24% from the field and did not make their first three-pointer until almost seven minutes into the game. Boals and his team found themselves trailing 32-19 in the final minutes of the half.
And then Jackson Paveletzke turned the tide.
The transfer guard from Iowa State nailed a corner three with a little over four minutes to go. That only sparked the rest of the Bobcats, as Clayton, Mitchell, and Ajay Sheldon ultimately contributed to a 19-6 scoring run. It was capped off by a Paveletzke buzzer-beating jumper to tie the game at 38 (earning him his 1,000th career point in the process).
Just like that, there was a renewed energy in the Convo.
“It started with our defense. It really started with Shereef on the ball,” Paveletkze explained after the game. “Obviously, when you’re getting stops and hitting shots, all the emotions are high … so that’s kind of what happened.”
Henry, Eagles Respond in Second Half
Both teams traded buckets in the opening minutes of the ladder half. Ohio got off to a better start offensively – converting on its first two attempts from downtown.
To their avail, however, it still wasn’t enough and gave Eastern Michigan’s Christian Henry the greenlight. Henry dominated in the second half with 15 points, shooting an efficient 6-10 from the field.
Henry’s efforts propelled the rest of the Eagles, who ultimately took a 73-61 lead with just over five minutes left in the game.
“We started slow [in] both halves, which killed us,” Paveletzke said after the game. “We just can’t have those lapses like that.”
Ohio made one last push in the final minutes, but it ultimately crumbled when Eastern Michigan forward Da’Sean Nelson made a tough right-handed runner to seal the deal.
The Bobcats were ultimately outrebounded by seven in Tuesday night’s loss. They were also outscored 44-24 in the paint.
Ohio has now lost back-to-back games to Eastern Michigan and may see them in the first round of the MAC Tournament next week.
“I just think [in] both games they were tougher than us,” Mitchell said. “If we play them again in the MAC Tournament, that’s going to be one thing we’re going to preach – being tough with them.”
Mitchell and the Bobcats sit in fourth place in the MAC standings with a 10-7 conference record.
Boals Reflects on the Loss
Ohio’s four-point loss marks just its third loss at the Convo this season. Boals pointed out the detriment of the team’s slow start.
“I think the urgency wasn’t there … When you spend so much energy to get back into it in that first half to tie it, you have to set the tone in the second half.”
Despite a better start offensively coming out of the break, no one cracked double-digit scoring for the Bobcats in the second half.
Boals also credited Eastern Michigan’s role players for stepping up in big moments. Five Eagles players finished with double-digit scoring marks.
“Give those guys credit for stepping up,” Boals said. “That’s what good players do.”
Despite an emotional loss, Boals preached the importance of his team starting games the right way as the regular season winds down.
“It’s a big key for us every single game … But when you give another team confidence, you know you’re going to be in for a dog fight,” Boals explained. “We always talk about coming out and setting the tone [and] being the aggressor. We weren’t [against Eastern Michigan] and I think it hurt us.”
Boals and his team conclude their regular season in Toledo (16-14, 9-8 MAC) on Friday. The Bobcats look for revenge after falling to the Rockets, 86-83, on Jan. 28.