Sports
Ohio Men’s Basketball staves off comeback, defeats NC A&T to move to 2-0
By: Eli Baxter
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio Men’s Basketball (2-0) hosted North Carolina A&T (1-1) for their home opener. The Bobcats clawed their way back after a slow start to take the victory 80-70.
The Bobcats began the game with Javan Simmons, Jackson Paveletzke, Siebe Ledegen, Dusan Makitan and Kolton Mitchell on the floor. The Aggies guard-heavy lineup featured Shane Lancaster, Ponce James, and Danny Delgardo III. Matthew Webster and Will Felton were the two big men in the starting lineup.
North Carolina A&T jumped out to an early 9-2 lead with three minutes played. Ledegen would cut this deficit to four with a made three, but the Aggies quickly responded. Before the first timeout, James drained a shot from behind the arc to increase their advantage 14-5.
Coming out the short break, Simmons would dominate the paint with four points down low and an additional three-point play in under a minute. The Bobcats were still down by two-possessions at this point, but Ledegen would get a huge block leading to a transition bucket. Makitan began his impressive day with a three-pointer to cut the deficit down to three.
For the next several minutes, the Bobcats and Aggies would trade scores until Ohio would take their first lead of the game with seven minutes remaining. James would tie the game at 26 with a two-point make with just under six minutes left.
Ohio would carry the lead into the half 38-31, after a 12-5 run in the last five minutes. This included a 5:25 stretch where North Carolina A&T did not put points on the board. Even though Ohio was up at the break, Head Coach Jeff Boals didn’t think the team got off to a great start.
“We got punched in the mouth,” Boals said. “We talked about getting off to a great start and we didn’t. No one panicked. The last 16 minutes we outscored them 33-17.”
Not only did they respond and take the lead, but they also continued to grow it in the second half. The Bobcats used an impressive shooting night to grow their lead to 16. This was with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game and a 55-39 lead for Ohio. The Aggies began a comeback effort late, as bonus free throws helped them cut the deficit to just four points. But the Bobcats would put the game to bed with a dunk by Javan Simmons and a three-point dagger by Ché Brogan. They went on to win the game, 80-70.
Ohio made over half of their shots from the field on the day. This includes freshman Ché Brogan who was lights out from the floor. Brogan scored 18 points in just 12 minutes of playing time. This came from his ability to draw fouls and reach the free throw line. Brogan made all seven of his shots from the line, with six made shots on six attempts from the floor.
With Ohio’s first win at home this season, they move to 2-0 with their focus shifting to Purdue next Friday.
The Boilermakers were just upset by Valparaiso in double overtime 83-80. Still looking for their first win, they will host Illinois State before their matchup with the Bobcats.