Sports
Ohio Men’s Basketball’s winning streak ends in blowout loss to Toledo
By: Grant Kiefer
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TOLEDO, Ohio (WOUB) — There is just one team head coach Jeff Boals hasn’t beaten on the road during his tenure in Athens—the Toledo Rockets.
In fact, Boals has beaten them just one time—the 2021 MAC Championship Final. It would be more of the same, as despite a hot start for the Bobcats, they would blow a double-digit lead to lose 101-84 on Tuesday night.
It’s the first loss for the Bobcats since Dec. 20, which is also their last loss in MAC play. It’s also the first time under Boals that Ohio has given up over 100+ points to a MAC opponent.
Ohio looked unstoppable to start the game. Ajay Sheldon hit an early three-pointer, and the Bobcats hit the ground running from there. They got out to a 22-9 lead and forced Toledo to call a timeout. In Javan Simmons’ return to Toledo, he felt the energy early on and had a quick eight points in the first eight minutes
However, Toledo slowly chipped away at the deficit, and all of a sudden had taken a 49-47 lead with under a minute to go. Both teams traded threes to end the half, including a buzzer-beater from Jackson Paveletzke, making it a 52-50 halftime deficit for Ohio. After shooting over 60% from the field for the entire first half, that felt like a slap in the face.
It would only get worse from there, as Toledo came out firing in the second half and got out to a six-point lead, which forced Boals to call a timeout. It went even more downhill after the timeout, as Ohio quickly started a double-digit deficit in the face after leading by double digits themselves soon after. No shots were falling, and Toledo had a stretch where it made 13 out of 15 shots. It was a true disaster after what originally looked like a game Ohio could’ve exorcised demons.
Ohio didn’t defend ball screens well all night, which is something to keep an eye on moving forward.
Simmons’ return was an up-and-down emotional roller coaster. After spending his first three years as a Rocket and, ironically, playing outstanding every time he played Ohio, it was his first time as the visitor in Savage Arena. He fed off the energy early and was talking back to fans and some players, but once Ohio’s lead went away, he became more frustrated and was visibly upset walking off the court after the game.
Ultimately, it’s still early for the Bobcats—they were underdogs in this game to begin with, and there’s still plenty of time to get back on track. Up next is a game at Ball State and a return home to face Northern Illinois. Going 2-0 would be ideal against those two struggling teams, as the defending MAC champion Akron Zips come to town next Friday.