Clipboard markers flying, technical fouls, poor shooting and fans leaving well before the final buzzer. Those were all things fans and those watching at home on national television were treated to during Ohio’s (11-10 overall, 5-4 Mid-American Conference) loss to Akron (16-4 overall, 7-1 MAC).
Last season’s rendition of Akron coming to The Convo was arguably the highlight of the season for an Ohio team that had an up-and-down year. The Bobcats were able to put it all together and snap the Zips’ unbeaten streak in the MAC in front of a raucous crowd and national TV audience.
The same blueprint was there for this year’s game, with everything except Akron’s unbeaten MAC record on the line, as its only loss has been to 20-0 No. 25 Miami.
Ohio fell flat from the jump, getting outplayed in nearly every way Friday night as the opportunity to make a statement turned into a flop on national television.
“They came in here and did exactly what they wanted to do, what they needed to do,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said. “I got outcoached, we got outcompeted, and give them credit. It's a really good team.”
Akron came out of the gates flying, swarming guard Jackson Paveletzke with pressure and double teams, forcing the Ohio offense to be sped up and make mistakes.
Those mistakes allowed the Zips to take the lead and never let go of it, as Ohio never held a lead in the game.
The Bobcats started the game shooting just 6-16 from the field and 2-7 from deep. Those shooting numbers aren’t good enough against a great Akron team that has so many scorers.
One of those scorers was Sharron Young, a sophomore guard who was able to rattle off three straight baskets by himself, prompting a Jeff Boals timeout.
Soon after the timeout, Young was fouled by senior forward Aidan Hadaway. After a review, the foul was upgraded to a flagrant, and Hadaway did not like the call. He spent the entire time Young was at the line arguing with referees, an action that got him a technical foul, his fourth of the season, which is tied for second in the country.
Hadaway wasn’t the only Bobcat that was “T’d up,” as Boals himself was given a technical after an outburst on the sidelines. The head coach slammed his clipboard across his knee after Akron’s Eric Mahaffey went coast to coast for an and-one after no one picked him on defense.
The marker from the clipboard went flying across the court, all the way near the mouth of the attack cat logo at mid-court.
“At some point, I knew it was going to hurt us, and tonight was the night,” Boals said. “The emotional maturity has got to be there, and it wasn't tonight. (It) includes myself. I got upset after we gave up a layup off a free throw when we weren’t communicating.”
Those types of lapses can’t be happening for a team that is trying to compete for a MAC title, especially against a top-tier team like Akron.
The clock is ticking for this team to prove that they can compete at a high-level against good MAC competition. The Bobcats shot just 23.5% from deep on Friday, which isn’t much worse than the 30.3% they are shooting against MAC opponents combined.
The hot streak the team went on heading into MAC play was a great sign of progression, but that streak is more than over now following losses to Toledo, Akron and Ball State.
Time is ticking for the senior class and Boals to get things back on track to compete in the MAC tournament because in this era of college sports, things can change in an instant.
