CLEVELAND ' Fatigue set in on the Bobcats faster than expected, and with it, so did the end of their season.
Slow from the start, Ohio couldn't keep up with a rested Miami squad, losing 70-51 yesterday in Quicken Loans Arena.
I thought Miami was a fresher team than we were
coach Tim O'Shea said after Ohio's Mid-American Conference Tournament loss. We just didn't have the legs today.
The Bobcats took the floor less than 24 hours after their 69-59 win against Bowling Green on Wednesday, the quickest turnaround of the season. But guard Sonny Troutman didn't think it would hit this early.
I thought we'd be a little fresher Troutman said, being that this was just the second game but it's true. Fatigue set in really fast. I didn't expect it
but it did happen.
O'Shea said that the new format for this year's tournament, which forced his team to play its first-round game the day before its second, did in the 'Cats.
It really is significant
O'Shea said. That's why I was so upset when we didn't beat Buffalo Sunday because we would have been the team with the bye and the fresher legs.
Regardless of the fatigue, O'Shea couldn't have figured the game would go as badly as it did.
Miami established control early by getting easy looks around the basket, while making it far from easy for the Bobcats when they had the ball. The Bobcats rarely got a shot off without a hand in their faces, and even when they got open looks, their shots fell flat. Ohio shot 30 percent from the field in the first half.
Bubba Walther, who took over Wednesday's game with five 3-pointers, was a non-factor. Not able to get a good look the entire game, Walther hit only 1-of-5 attempts.
The key to shutting down Ohio's best shooter? Forget about him.
I think not keeping an eye on Walther was the key to the game
Miami coach Charlie Coles said. When you keep an eye on him you need binoculars because he shoots from so far out. If you stay out so far on him
it ruins your team defense.
Led by bruising forward Tim Pollitz, the RedHawks stretched their lead to 18 at halftime by simply dominating the post; the few shots that didn't fall for the RedHawks in the first half were usually followed by an offensive rebound. Miami out-rebounded Ohio 33 to 18.
The Bobcats temporarily shut down Miami at the beginning of the second half, holding the RedHawks without a field goal for more than five minutes, but couldn't convert at the other end. With Miami's ability to slow the game to a crawl, the Bobcats would have needed an effort like last Thursday's, when they held Miami without a field goal for nearly 16 minutes, to pull off the comeback.
Their style of play makes it hard for you when you get down
Troutman said. It was just too big of a deficit to overcome.
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