BOWLING GREEN- As Ohio broke many of its final timeouts, the veins bulging from forward Terren Harbut's neck were visible from the top of Anderson Arena as he implored his teammates to make one last run.
The Bobcats did just that, but like many times this year it was not enough as the No. 7 seed Bowling Green Falcons (14-16) ended No. 10 Ohio's season, 56-54, in the Mid-American Conference Tournament's first round.
I told them just not to give up
it was the seniors' last year Harbut said. We just wanted to give it our all and have no regrets.
The Bobcats (10-20) looked to be dead with 2:09 left, but Harbut and guard Thomas Stephens led a furious run to tie the contest at 54 with 48.1 seconds remaining.
It was just not giving up and getting the ball and realizing I'm quick and I've got a chance to push the ball said Stephens, who finished with 14 points. If you have one-on-one with a big man down there
I'm a small guy
they're not going to try and take a charge.
After the Falcons hit two free throws to take a late lead, the Bobcats had three shots to tie the game with less than 4.5 seconds remaining including guard Jaivon Harris' wide open 3-point attempt.
I thought a kid like Jaivon deserved to have that lost shot go in
Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said. It's what we wanted
we were going for the win
we felt that Jaivon had four fouls
we had the ball with a chance to hit a three that we might as well go for it.
The final game for Harris, who finished with five points, was forgettable. His last shot hit the side of the backboard and the Bobcats' two follows failed when Bowling Green guard Ron Lewis swatted them away from the rim.
Other Ohio players had disappointing nights as well. Forwards Jeff Halbert and Sonny Troutman did not score.
Lewis scored 19 of the Falcons' 27 second-half points after being held scoreless for the first 20 minutes.
Ohio trailed 29-21 at half, but the Bobcats rode Harbut's back. He was the only Bobcat to attack Bowling Green's man-to-man defense in the first half.
O'Shea lamented the perception that this season's team was lousy because the losses doubled the wins, but he said that was not the case.
I'm very proud of my team
we always manage to make a rally - it's kind of incredible
O'Shea said. A lot of the times when you have a year when you have a lot of losses you can have attitude losses and discipline problems and a whole bunch of issues
