PREGAME
Ohio ( 22-10, 11-7) enters Cleveland as the No. five seed and takes on No. 8 Miami (13-17, 8-10) in the second round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
The Bobcats defeated the RedHawks March 8th in overtime, 82-76. Ohio has posted a 7-5 record all-time from the No. five position, however has never won the tournament from that particular seeding. The RedHawks defeated Kent State Monday and have won four of its past six games. Miami is led by All-MAC Second Team selection, redshirt senior forward Will Felder, who ranks ninth in the MAC in scoring. A win over Miami would pit the Bobcats against No. four Akron Thursday night.
STARTING LINEUPS:
OHIO:
senior guard Nick Kellogg, redshirt senior forward Jon Smith, redshirt junior guard Javarez Willis, senior guard Travis Wilkins, freshman forward Antonio Campbell
MIAMI: redshirt senior forward Will Felder, senior guard Quinten Rollins, sophomore guard Geovonie McKnight, sophomore guard Willie Moore, junior guard Will Sullivan
FIRST HALF
Both teams struggled to shoot the basketball in the opening stanza, as Ohio went into halftime with a 27-23 lead.
Ohio got off to a quick start three minutes into the contest, building a 9-3 following four straight points from senior guard Nick Kellogg and a 3-pointer from redshirt junior guard Javarez Willis. Ohio then proceeded to go cold, missing its next six shots while the RedHawks proceeded to tie the game at 10 points apiece.
The RedHawks were jumpstarted offensively by a three-point play by sophomore guard Willie Moore and took a 12-10 lead with 11:46 remaining in the half. The Bobcats regained the lead for the remainder of the first half with the help of back-to-back three-pointers, first by Kellogg and followed by junior forward Maurice Ndour. The Bobcats increased its lead to 27-19 with 2:49 remaining until the buzzer after an Ndour layup. Ohio was held scoreless for the remainder of the half.
SECOND HALF
Ohio grinded out a 63-55 victory against Miami to advance to the semifinals against No. four Akron Thursday.
The Bobcats shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and three Bobcats finished in double figures. Kellogg was the Bobcats leading scorer with 20 points. Miami came out the gates hot as they cut the Bobcats lead to two points, 31-29 with 16:42 left in the first half as Miami had all the momentum coming out of the break. The RedHawks were aided by redshirt senior forward Will Felder, who scored six of Miami’s first eight points in the second half. Felder finished with eight points for the game.
The teams traded leads until Bobcats junior guard Stevie Taylor hit back-to-back threes in the nine-minute mark of the half to put Ohio back on top 45-43. Ohio’s Willis then converted on consecutive triples for Ohio, as they increased their lead to 51-47 with 5:19 left in regulation.
Ohio never relinquished the lead and Kellogg made a decisive three point play to put Ohio up 59-55 with 32 second left in the game. Two free throws by Willis and a Kellogg basket sealed the victory for Ohio in the waning seconds.
BOX SCORE
OHIO:
Nick Kellogg 20 points and seven rebounds
Javarez Willis 13 points and three rebounds
Maurice Ndour 12 points
MIAMI:
Willie Moore 16 points and 10 rebounds
Jaryd Eustace 15 points and seven rebounds
Will Felder eight points and five rebounds
