Ohio played a similar game last Saturday against Kent State, but in that game, it maintained the lead despite a mediocre second quarter.
Against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, however, Ohio couldn’t muster enough offense in the fourth quarter to maintain the lead. The Bobcats led for a little over 29 minutes. For the other seven or so minutes, though, Eastern Michigan did.
The Bobcats lost the lead with 7:23 left in the game, and they never regained it, ultimately losing 73-58 against Eastern Michigan in The Convo. Ohio was outscored 30-11 in the fourth quarter.
“Our shot selection wasn’t real good and we had too many turnovers,” coach Bob Boldon said. “Just kind of the things that you expect with the type of team we are. We’re still learning and we’re still trying to figure some things out.”
For a second straight game, the Bobcats hit a offensive lull during the second quarter, only scoring four points in the quarter. That’s the Bobcats’ lowest scoring quarter of the season; the lowest one before was when Ohio scored five points in the second quarter against Akron.
As Ohio faltered offensively in the second quarter against Eastern Michigan, it was similar to when the Bobcats slowed down on offense against the Golden Flashes. The Bobcats scored 12 points in the second quarter against the Golden Flashes, but committed 10 turnovers.
While the Bobcats only scored four points in the second quarter against the Eagles, they also committed six turnovers. The Eagles switched to a man defense after initially playing a 2-3 zone.
All those factors contributed to the Bobcats’ offense not producing in the second quarter.
The Bobcats held the Eagles to 10 points in the second quarter, but the game was tied at 27 at halftime. Ohio never led by more than 10 points; it had a 10-point lead in the first quarter. The Bobcats couldn’t create separation after scoring 23 points in the first quarter.
And as the game went on, the Eagles took advantage of that. They were never out of the game, and they went on a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter. Danielle Minott hit a 3-pointer with 3:12 left, and the Bobcats were down 63-54. Cierra Hooks, who led the Bobcats in scoring with 15 points, fouled out with 2:40 left.
Hooks was the Bobcats’ main source for offense, so from there the Bobcats struggled to score.
“We weren’t quite good enough tonight down the stretch, and I thought Eastern Michigan played a very nice basketball game and got the win,” Boldon said.
Ohio (13-11, 7-6 Mid-American Conference) has five games left in the regular season, and it will play Bowling Green (10-14, 2-11 MAC) at home Saturday. With the conference tournament near, the Bobcats will be fighting for seeding.
A top four seed would be favorable, because it would give them a first-round bye. Heading into this game the Bobcats were the No. 4 seed.
Now, as they are one game above .500, they’re the No. 6 seed. Western Michigan holds the tiebreaker over Miami, and Miami holds the tiebreaker over Ohio.
