Ohio collapsed during the second half of its loss to Miami on Saturday.
OXFORD — Although Ohio has surrendered leads before, coach Saul Phillips had never witnessed a team react to adversity the way the Bobcats did Saturday.
Ohio led by as many as 14 points in the first half and was ahead at halftime, but soon found itself down 16 during the final minutes of Saturday’s 77-66 loss to Miami.
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It was the 11th double-digit loss of the season for Ohio. It was also the fourth time the Bobcats have lost consecutive games.
But when the RedHawks increased their defensive intensity and began pressuring the ball, Phillips said the Bobcats (9-14, 4-8 Mid-American Conference) weren’t picking each other up and that compounded to players’ dwelling on struggles.
“You don’t have to be best friends in the world off the court,” Phillips explained. “But you better respect the heck out of your teammate for the shared suffering you’ve gone through for the fact that you’re wearing the same jersey.”
Miami went on a 17-2 run midway through the second half, during which Ohio missed five shots, fouled four times and committed four turnovers. The RedHawks turned a one-point deficit to a 14-point lead in less than six minutes.
Instead of encouraging each other, the Bobcats floundered to their eighth MAC loss. If the MAC Tournament started today, they’d be the second-to-last seed.
“Really what it is, it’s missing an opportunity to have fun playing college basketball and to win playing college basketball,” Phillips said. “It’s a damn shame.”
About two minutes after that stretch Phillips subbed walk-on guard Drew Crabtree into the game. The sophomore had only played 10 minutes before Saturday and none of that had been during significant portions of games. Ohio was down 15 points, but there was still more than seven minutes remaining.
Phillips said he needed an answer to the second-half collapse and didn’t have one at that point.
Ohio committed 12 turnovers, compared to Miami’s six. The Bobcats attempted just three free throws, compared to the RedHawks 26. Miami (9-16, 4-8 MAC) combined to finish with a 32-point advantage off turnovers and at the free throw line.
“Coming out of halftime, they turned their pressure up and we didn’t take it the right way,” sophomore forward Antonio Campbell said. “We didn’t handle that pressure right.”
Campbell finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double this season and tried to will the Bobcats back during the second half by attempting 3-pointers.
He was one of three Bobcats with double-digit points, alongside seniors Javarez “Bean” Willis and Maurice Ndour with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Despite their offensive contributions, Phillips said earlier this season when the seniors play well, the team tends to play well. Saturday, he was hoping someone would gather in a huddle to resolve their problems, but he didn’t see that happen.
“You could feel (the energy) suck out the gym,” Phillips said. “Not acceptable, I know that. Not something I like to be a part of, not something anybody should like to be a part of.”
@chadlindskog
cl027410@ohio.edu
