D.J. Cooper raced down the court in the final seconds and launched a 3-pointer. He missed, gathered his rebound and shot it again. As both attempts hit off the front rim and dropped to the floor, the Bobcats fell short again.
A second-half surge and Cooper's 17-point, eight assist effort was not enough as the Bobcats lost to Kent State, 69-66, at The Convo Saturday night.
That was a tough one
coach John Groce said.
The Bobcats (8-9, 1-2 Mid-American Conference) failed to convert when it mattered the most. With a 66-65 lead and 1:35 to play, Asown Sayles missed two free throws. On the other end, Kent State's Carlton Guyton was fouled and made both shots for a 67-66 lead.
That's real big especially on the road in a hostile environment Kent guard Rodriquez Sherman said. Those last two free throws were big free throws for (Guyton).
Cooper drove and found Ivo Baltic, but the ball was tipped and Sherman coasted for a layup and the game's final score.
Ivo tried to attack
did what coach said and we ran the play
Cooper said. Their guys made a good defensive play.
The Flashes (11-6, 2-1 MAC) out-rebounded Ohio, 38-25. They had more offensive rebounds (18) than Ohio had defensive rebounds (15), meaning Kent gathered more of its misses than the Bobcats did.
That's three MAC games in a row where we've lost the possession battle by almost double figures or more
Groce said. I'm very concerned about that because that means you have to be off-the-charts efficient
and your margin for error is very small when you get brutalized on the backboard like we did today.
DeVaughn Washington scored 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting. But he grabbed only one rebound in 29 minutes. Kent State had 42 points in the paint.
We just gotta be tough
Washington said. That's just on us to be locked in and boxing out.
For two weeks, Groce has emphasized toughness with the young Bobcats. He said he's not happy with the way his first three MAC games have gone, and the team still has much to improve.
I'm a competitive guy
Groce said. ...Do I think we've gotten better since we got back from Christmas? Yes. Do I think we need to still play better? Yeah. We do.
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