AKRON — A home game in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament would be a huge boost for Ohio’s odds of making a trip to Cleveland in its first year with Jeff Boals.
The Bobcats had a chance to accomplish that goal with a win Tuesday at James A. Rhodes Arena. Instead, the Bobcats crumbled in the second half to Akron and lost 74-67.
For Ohio, that means it has to win Friday on the road against Miami — the last regular season game of the year — to guarantee a home game for the MAC Tournament.
Why is it so important? The Bobcats are 11-5 at home this season and just 3-9 on the road. Ohio just hasn’t been as consistent when it has to travel. If it can’t win against Miami, who’s been one of the worst teams in the MAC but has won two of its last three games, then it won’t play another game in The Convo.
Ohio’s road struggles were apparent against Akron. The Bobcats led 50-37 at halftime after it shot 63% (19-for-30), but they didn’t post anywhere near those numbers in the second half. Ohio struggled to make layups and find lanes through Akron’s defense and shot 10-for-24 (41.7%).
That wasn’t enough to suppress a surge from the Zips, who went on a 14-2 run in the final five minutes and took the lead with 4:53 left. The Bobcats didn’t make a field goal in the final six minutes.
Loren Cristian Jackson, who entered Tuesday second in the MAC with 20.2 points per game, fouled out with eight minutes left. That didn’t stop the Zips, however, from finding points. Xeyrius Williams led Akron with 20 points, and the Zips found 27 combined points from Tyler Cheese and Channel Banks.
The Bobcats still had a chance to leave with the win in the final minutes — they were only down two points with 56 seconds left — but Cheese hit a layup with 30 seconds left that made the deficit too big to overcome.
Now, Ohio only has one more chance to return to The Convo. Tipoff against Miami is set for Friday at 7 p.m.
