CLEVELAND ' Tim O'Shea knew playing Miami for a third straight year in the Mid-American Conference Tournament was bound to turn out badly for him.
After having his Bobcats knock out their conference rivals the last two times they met in the tournament, O'Shea said he could see the motivation in the RedHawks' eyes as they turned the tables. This year, Miami got their revenge against Ohio in dominating fashion as the RedHawks swamped the 'Cats 70-51.
The law of averages is bound to catch up to us sooner or later playing Miami
O'Shea said. It was in the back of my head and they had tremendous motivation coming into this game.
When Miami coach Charlie Coles and his players took the stage at the press conference, relief could be seen on all of their faces. Senior Nathan Peavy and junior Tim Pollitz both had their last two MAC seasons ended by the Bobcats.
Pollitz led all scorers with 25 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds. His effort led Miami to out-rebound Ohio 33 to 18.
The last two years we lost to Ohio in the tournament and today we just had too much aggression on offense and defense Pollitz said. We just got real aggressive on the rebounds and we knew we had a big challenge and took it upon us and played.
Coles keeps his key
Coles, too, was pleased with the win against Ohio ' the team he calls Miami's number one rival.
Against the Bobcats
it can be a summer tournament and (the win) is beautiful
because I tell people that (Ohio) is our number one rival
Coles said. I say that because when I played
that was our number one rival.
But Coles' main reason for delight was explained when he hunted for his hotel key after the win.
To beat Ohio is always good
Coles said. We got to keep our hotel key ' the saddest thing about the tournament is when you have to leave you turn in your hotel key. So we get to keep our key one more day
which is good. Real good.
In need from deep
One reason the Bobcats struggled to get anything going against the RedHawks yesterday was the lack of production from beyond the arc. After getting five 3-pointers from Bubba Walther in Wednesday's game against Bowling Green, Ohio shot a measly 2-of-16 from 3-point land against Miami.
O'Shea recognized his team's outside shooting woes as something that has plagued the team all year and must improve next season to find success.
We had some open looks from three
but none would go down. That is one thing we are addressing in our recruiting. We have to become a better 3-point shooting team
O'Shea said. It is too big a part of the game and it is something that hasn't been a strength for us all year long.
