CLEVELAND — All season long, the Bobcats' future boiled down to what was right in front of their faces.
With seconds dying off the clock, Kenny Kaminski, the team's lone senior starter, faced career-ending final seconds. The Bobcats season boiled down to one final shot.
Kaminski took a pass from Jaaron Simmons and cooly knocked down a jumpshot on the left wing with 7.8 seconds remaining. After a stop on the other end, the Bobcats now have another thing staring them in the face.
Ohio beat Toledo 67-66 at The Q on Thursday night to advance to the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals.
For a team that played off-script all season long, it was nearly the team's final breath. But the Bobcats did the most important thing they could this time of year: survive.
The Bobcats started off horribly from the field and trailed by 15-points with just three minutes left in the first half. The team was out of sync and had no answer for Toledo's surprising defense. But then, a run at the end of the second half sparked a final 23 minutes in which Ohio went on a 50-34 run.
Simmons led the team with 24 points, and Jason Carter followed with 19. But the shot that will be remembered, at least for the next 24 hours, was by Ohio's third-leading scorer. In, of course, an off-script shot.
Ohio will play the winner of Kent State/Buffalo on Friday at 8 p.m.
