Sports

Ohio failed to stop Kent State late as it falls on the road 82-75

By: Maria Monesi
Posted on: Tuesday, February 28, 2023

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KENT, Ohio (WOUB) – Ohio (17-13, 9-8 MAC) couldn’t contain Kent State (24-6, 14-3 MAC), who lit up in the second half, as it lost a tough battle 82-75 on the road. 

Kent State opened up the game on an 11-2 run and looked to be a problem for Ohio. A timeout allowed it to come out and respond. 

Ben Roderick hit a key three to start a run that propelled an offensive spark for the Bobcats. Roderick finished the game with three 3-pointers on the night. 

Ohio added pressure on defense and created back and forth action with Kent State. It had eight 3-pointers in the first half, which was a big part of its comeback, as it went into the locker room with a 39-35 lead. 

“We got off to a slow start,” head coach Jeff Boals said. “But give them credit they battled back after that timeout, took the lead into halftime which you know to come in here and take the lead that’s great in itself.”

The Bobcats came out into the second half rolling. They continued to convert offensively and multiple baskets from Jaylin Hunter allowed them to take a 48-40 lead. Hunter finished the night with 14 points.

A Kent State run in the middle of the second half shifted the momentum as it took back the lead 56-55.

“Got off to a great start in the second half,” Boals said. “You know kind of played back and forth in the second half. We had some turnovers there in that one stretch that they turned into easy points, got some separation and they made some big plays at the end.”

A lot of the big plays came from the Golden Flashes offense which shot 61 percent from the field in the half.

One of the key contributions from Kent State was Sincere Carry who led with 23 points. 

“He’s a great player,” Boals said. “He hit some big time shots. Coming into the game he was shooting 29% from three so we we’re trying to go under the ball screens and it was effective for most of the game like that. You know give him credit he hit some moonshots late and that’s what great players do.”

Carry and Kent State’s offense proved to be too much for Ohio late in the game as it was handed its second straight loss.

The Bobcats face off in their final game of the regular season on Friday against Bowling Green in the Convo. For Boals, he says picking up wins before the Mid-American Conference tournament is important. 

“Yeah, I mean you want to go into (the tournament) with momentum,” Boals said. “Obviously we’d love to win this game, but we competed, battled, played hard. You know they’re really good.”