The Bobcats’ exhibition victory Saturday was their final tuneup before the season begins next weekend.
Saul Phillips hasn’t yet coached an official game at Ohio and he’s already fired himself from giving pre-game speeches.
In his first appearance Saturday in The Convo, Ohio fell behind by 14 points midway through the first half of its exhibition game against Division III Marietta College. Although the game doesn’t have any impact on the upcoming season, Phillips wasn’t happy with the Bobcats’ first-half performance in front of 11,108 fans.
Although he said Marietta took it to the Bobcats for awhile, Phillips claims he’s “the best halftime speech guy in America.”
“Maybe I can just video a halftime speech and play it before the game,” Phillips said.
Despite trailing early, Ohio ended up winning 82-69 after making 11 stops on 12 possessions before halftime. It then claimed a 16-point advantage in the second half.
Redshirt senior guard Javarez “Bean” Willis said the Bobcats were prepared for Marietta and weren’t surprised when the Pioneers made six 3-pointers in the first half on their way to a double-digit lead.
“They just came out and played harder, unfortunately,” he said. “I think we came out and we was playing hard but we wasn’t playing right, so we picked up the intensity and that pretty much changed the whole game.”
Willis finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists but said he may have been “a little bit too happy” on the court as he attempted 16 shots, including 12 from beyond the arc.
Part of the reason the Bobcats were able to control the second half was the play of senior forward Maurice Ndour, who scored 16 of his game-high 18 points after halftime. He said the first half was “awful” and Ohio could’ve done a better job communicating because it was causing defensive breakdowns.
“I’m the soul of this team. I have to step it up and I think the other guys will follow,” Ndour said.
The Bobcats followed suit and five finished with double-digit points. Treg Setty, Stevie Taylor and Ryan Taylor each scored 15 points, while Mike Laster added 11 off the bench.
Stevie Taylor, a senior guard, scored all of his points in the first half before dealing with cramping in the second half. Phillips doesn’t expect it to be a long-term problem and said Taylor has a flair for the dramatic.
“Every once in a while I’ll get one walking out of bed at night and go down in a heap like that, the difference is he did it on The Convo floor,” Phillips said. “He needs to enjoy a Gatorade.”
The Bobcats will have a week of practices to build on their exhibition performances before the season officially begins Saturday in The Convo against Appalachian State — a chance for Phillips and Ohio to make a better impression to fans.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t send that crowd out feeling a little bit better about where we’re at because I’m here to tell you it’ll get better than that,” Phillips said. “I wish it was a little prettier, but this isn’t figure skating.”
@chadlindskog
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