coach John Groce said. I thought they were the aggressor at the start of the second half.
Jordan Mincy, a 5-10, 175-pound senior guard, came in averaging just 3.3 points per game, but was the key to the Flashes' two biggest runs.
With the Bobcats leading 17-7 early in the game, Mincy scored eight straight points on Kent State's 10-0 run.
KENT - Leading 34-26 with 16:18 to play, the Bobcats found themselves in prime position for a giant, potentially season-changing, upset victory.
But thanks to a gutsy performance by a tiny guard, Ohio suffered yet another deflating road loss. This time, it was a 64-51 loss to Kent State yesterday at the M.A.C. Center.
A win would have snapped a four-game road losing streak and put the Bobcats in great position to improve their seeding for the Mid-American Conference tournament.
Instead, Ohio faltered down the stretch and now finds itself in last place, a game and a half behind Bowling Green and Akron for fourth place in the MAC East Division. Any chances at a possible bye are now close to zero.
I think we needed to show a little more poise coach John Groce said. I thought they were the aggressor at the start of the second half.
Jordan Mincy, a 5-10, 175-pound senior guard, came in averaging just 3.3 points per game, but was the key to the Flashes' two biggest runs.
With the Bobcats leading 17-7 early in the game, Mincy scored eight straight points on Kent State's 10-0 run.
Mincy was there again locking down point guard Michael Allen, while also scoring the final five points on Kent State's 16-0 run that put Kent State up for good. Mincy scored 15 of his 27 points in the final 16 minutes.
Making his performance even harder to swallow was that Ohio held the Golden Flashes' top-3 scorers to just 5-of-25 shooting.
Had we seen him play like that? No coach John Groce said. Mincy's performance ...that was unbelievable.
He didn't allow us to run our offense like we wanted to.
Mincy and inspired Kent State defense held the Bobcats scoreless for more than seven minutes at the start of the second half.
Jerome Tillman's free throw with 16:38 to play gave Ohio (13-12
6-6 MAC) a 34-26 lead. They wouldn't score again until Tillman's 3-point play with 8:53 to go.
The Golden Flashes (15-11
8-4 MAC) held Ohio to just 42 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from the 3-point line.
We weren't in a flow in our half-court offense, said Tillman
who scored a team-high 18 points.
Kent State's defense scored 21 points off Ohio's 19 turnovers. Six of those turnovers came during the Golden Flashes' 16-0 run.
Steven Coleman had two of those turnovers and a game-high six in the game.
It's tough when you have him go with one assist to six turnovers, Groce said. We got a little sloppy.
,",2,Sports,Matt O'Donnell,27147b.jpg,",Kent State hands Ohio fifth-straight road loss,",",","
27148,2009-02-18 02:27:00,At least 1 student with meningitis received vaccination,At least one of two Ohio University students diagnosed with bacterial meningitis was vaccinated over the summer.
,At least one of two Ohio University students diagnosed with bacterial meningitis was vaccinated over the summer.
Freshman Michael Crane
19
from Bellbrook
was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis yesterday after being transferred to Kettering Memorial Hospital near Dayton from O'Bleness Memorial Hospital.
Crane was vaccinated in July of last year for meningitis before coming to OU
his mother
Mary Crane
