Ohio came into Mt. Pleasant searching for a victory after being blown out on Tuesday, and the Bobcats
MOUNT PLEASANT, Michigan — When Ohio went down 10-2 just four minutes into Saturday's game, it looked to be the beginning of another poor performance in Michigan.
The Bobcats got themselves back in the game several times, attempting to change momentum, but it didn’t finish how they wanted.
Ohio was contesting until the final buzzer throughout its 74-69 loss to Central Michigan.
Coach Saul Phillips has said in the past that he doesn’t want anything to do with moral victories, but on Saturday he said the majority of Ohio’s mistakes came from routine plays.
Sophomore forward Antonio Campbell said the Bobcats “actually didn’t give up and fought back a little bit.”
“Tonight what really puts the knife in the back is that we didn’t finish at the rim. The number of absolute missed layups is as large as any game I’ve seen,” he said. “(It’s) very frustrating, but you can’t let that be demoralizing because that’s something we can do better, will do better and have done better”
On Tuesday, the Bobcats (7-12, 2-6 Mid-American Conference) were blown out by 36 points. Saturday they didn't let a slow start affect them again and lost by five points.
Although they couldn’t put a big enough run together in order to win, the Bobcats made almost half of their shots and increased a dreadful 1-for-11 first half from 3-point into an almost-30 percent outing from beyond the arc.
Ohio fell behind by double digits on eight different occasions Saturday, but they fought back and even put themselves in position to make it a one-possession game up after two missed free throws by Central Michigan guard Chris Fowler.
But instead, the Chippewas (15-4, 5-3 MAC) made two offensive rebounds and extended their lead to seven with tip-in at the basket.
“The offensive rebound that they got on the free throw hurt,” Campbell said. “He didn’t get boxed out, when you don’t box him out the ball comes right back to him.”
Fowler, who missed those free throws that might have become a dagger in the game, finished with a game-high 17 points, along with six assists.
Ohio redshirt senior guard Javarez “Bean” Willis was one of four Bobcats who finished with double-digit points, a team-high 14, but was held back when he and Campbell got into foul trouble.
Campbell said he caused a lot of problems for the Bobcats because of his height and ability to slash to the rim quickly, but once Campbell and Willis picked up their fourth fouls, Ohio was forced to change its pressure.
“He can hoop, man. He’s a good player,” Campbell said. “Refs were calling ticky-tack fouls so that actually made our guards sink off him a little bit so we’d stop fouling him.”
Senior forward Maurice Ndour quietly finished with a double-double, of 11 points and 14 rebounds, but Phillips says they didn’t feed him the ball enough. He only took five shots in the game, of which he hit three.
“They really keyed on him,” Phillips said. “When he’s engaged and locked in, he’s special. But for anybody, it’s a little easier to be engaged and locked in when you’re touching (the ball) a little more.”
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