Ohio forward Jon Smith’s tip-slam to tie the Bobcats with Akron as time expired Wednesday rivals sophomore guard Stevie Taylor’s three-pointer with 13 seconds left against Kent State two weeks ago as the most explosive play of Ohio’s season.
Smith, a redshirt junior, let the play roll off his shoulders without as much as an acknowledgement that it was he who pushed the game into overtime, though the Bobcats later lost.
The offensive rebound was one of Smith’s five of the night — a mark that beat out that of Akron’s starting frontcourt.
Continuing that trend could help Ohio (20-8, 11-2 Mid-American Conference) push through its final three MAC games, the first of which is against Bowling Green (12-16, 6-7 MAC) on Saturday.
The Bobcats permitted the Falcons 12 offensive boards in the teams’ Feb. 9 meeting, which Ohio won by nine points.
Bowling Green’s 14 second-chance points were much of what kept it within an arm’s length of Ohio, especially considering the Bobcats had only four second-chance points on six offensive rebounds — two of which were credited to Smith.
Smith, whose 42 offensive grabs trails only senior forward Reggie Keely amongst Ohio players, is listed as 6-foot-6 and 187 pounds and often has to compete against much bigger players.
“In the post you have a lot of bigger guys trying to box you out,” Smith said. “Some guys are ball watching. You just try to get to the ball — try to be that first one, be active.”
Still, the Bobcats are the worst offensive rebounding team in the MAC, as they average nine grabs per game and have no players among the conference’s Top 15 offensive rebounders.
Waiting for Ohio in the post Saturday will be Bowling Green junior forward A’uston Calhoun, who led all scorers with 19 points at The Convo three weeks ago.
He and senior guard Jordon Crawford combined to score more than half of the Falcons’ points and formed a potent inside-out scoring combination, as Crawford hit four of his six three-point attempts.
Since stepping on the floor to face Bowling Green, the Bobcats have drained only 32.6 percent of their three-point shots.
Junior guard Nick Kellogg, who shot better than 42 percent from beyond the arc in each of the past two seasons, made only two of his 15 three-pointers during that stretch.
Senior forward Ivo Baltic has also struggled of late. He was held scoreless Wednesday and had only two points against Belmont on Saturday.
Both pieces are crucial for the Bobcats to close out the regular season on a high note and make a strong postseason push.
Christian said they need to focus on fundamentals and not get too embroiled on picking apart their game in order to find the missing link.
“They’re just not playing well, but we need everybody to play well in order to make the run we want to make,” he said.
The Bobcats have lost their last five games at Bowling Green and are in search of their first-ever 6-1 mark in MAC road games.
Two of their final three regular season games are on the road, where they will fight for the No. 2 conference seeding.
“That’s what you set out to do because the goal is to get to the NCAA Tournament,” Christian said. “That’s still on the table, but at this point in time it’s more belief and mindset than it is ability.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
