The treacherous non-conference slate for Ohio (1-2 overall) continued on Wednesday night, this time on the west coast in Moraga, California, as the Bobcats faced off against Saint Mary’s (3-0) in their first road game of the year.
Ohio fell short against a very solid Saint Mary’s team that currently ranks No. 37 on KenPom and has been consistently making the NCAA tournament out of the West Coast Conference by a score of 90-60.
The Bobcats came out fighting, showing signs of the same quality team that pulled off a huge win over Illinois State last week, but the talent gap between the two teams caught up to them and some poor shooting on the night is what ultimately sunk the hopes for a big upset.
Ohio had the lead over Saint Mary’s for the first few minutes of the game, getting a 9-4 advantage over the Gaels after a couple of nice buckets from senior guard Jackson Paveletzke and senior forward Aidan Hadaway.
Toledo transfer forward Javan Simmons also got involved early, showing his range by knocking down a quick three.
That 9-4 lead was the largest lead of the night for Ohio, and Saint Mary’s quickly took control of the game on its home floor. The Gaels immediately flipped the script and went on an 11-0 run, getting the lead which they would not let go of.
Paveletzke hit his first three of the season to gain some momentum back, but Saint Mary’s would again take control of the game, going on another big run spearheaded by freshman guard Liam Campbell.
He had a true breakout game as a freshman against Ohio, going off for 17 points in the first half alone. He was efficient on those buckets as well, going 7-9 from the floor and 2-4 from deep in the first half.
With Campbell going off for the Gaels, the Bobcats had Paveletzke respond to his scoring hot streak with a streak of his own, as he put up 13 points in the first half on just seven shots.
He shot 5-7 from the floor and 2-2 from three while adding two rebounds and two assists.
Despite the deficit in the first half, the Bobcats battled on the glass, an area where they were at a true disadvantage as Saint Mary’s boasted some serious size in the form of 7’2’’ center Andrew McKeever. Ohio entered the half trailing 45-27, but only trailing 17-16 in the rebounding battle.
After a very solid first half, the Gaels continued their great play into the second half, as guard Mikey Lewis knocked down a three on the first possession of the half.
That set the tone for the half and kicked off the theme of the second frame as well, as Saint Mary's thoroughly outshot the Bobcats in the second half.
The Gaels hit six of the 10 threes they attempted while also shooting 46.7% from the floor and hitting 11 of the 15 free throws they attempted. Lewis, by himself, had nine points on 3-3 shooting from beyond the arc in the second half.
Ohio, on the other hand, could not find a groove, shooting the ball as it went just 2-11 from deep and 13-35 from the floor in the second half.
Saint Mary’s rode that hot shooting to another half where it outscored Ohio by double-digits, handing the Bobcats a 30-point loss in the process.
Ohio will continue its stretch of brutal non-conference opponents this Saturday when it goes on the road to take on No. 12 Louisville.
