Following the disappointing loss on national TV against the rival Miami RedHawks, Ohio (14-13 overall, 8-6 MAC) needed a spark back home against Ball State on Tuesday. There were multiple sparks and multiple flame-outs as well.
“We didn't start the second-half ideally, we bent, but we didn't break,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said. “Made some big free throws down the stretch, made some big plays as well.”
The game started with a bang, with one of the best sequences of the year from senior forward Aidan Hadaway. Hadaway pinned a Ball State layup attempt to the backboard before corralling the rebound and taking it up the floor. He began to slow down as he reached the 3-point line before finding a streaking freshman guard JJ Kelly for a lob that Kelly finished with one hand early in the first-half.
That highlight reel play got The Convo crowd on its feet, but the scoring began to slow down after that.
The Bobcats had 6 points after the Kelly lob with about 16 minutes left in the first-half, and with about nine minutes left in the first-half, they had 9 points. The official scoring drought for Ohio lasted over eight minutes. Thankfully for the Bobcats, the Cardinals were just as inept on the offensive side of the ball, and the lead stayed tight.
Redshirt freshman guard Jesse Burris finally ended the drought with a mid-range jumper, and Ohio went on a huge run from there.
Hadaway, Kelly and senior guard Ajay Sheldon all were able to drill some 3s, and as long as the scoring drought was, the scoring run was just as impressive. The run eventually got to 23-2 by the end of the half. Ball State had only 15 points going into the break, and Ohio had gained a 17-point lead.
Despite the big run going into the half, Ball State answered right back coming out of the break, going on a 9-0 run immediately in the second-half, forcing Boals to call a timeout.
“(Boals) was telling us to just stay with it,” Hadaway said. “Every single team is going to have games where they don't make shots, so you just have to stick with it.”
Following the Ball State blitz out of the half, the Boals timeout was able to settle the team, and for the rest of the second-half, it was mostly Ohio being able to control the game. Hadaway was able to make another 3, adding to his great day as he would finish with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Sheldon continued his hot streak and made another 3 as well, adding to the recent hot shooting from the senior guard.
The other important senior guard, Jackson Paveletzke, was held in check for most of the game, but he was able to close the game very well, earning trips to the line and converting some tough finishes at the rim to finish with 18 points and six assists.
“In Pav we trust, right?” Boals said. “He’s the head of the snake … he kind of controlled everything with the flow of what was going on, on our end. And I think for us, we knew he was getting to his spot. He missed a lot of the shots he normally makes, and I just told him stay positive. One of them's gonna fall. And he made some big-time plays down the stretch.”
Paveletzke’s scoring burst to close the game helped Ohio get back on track before another road game this weekend against Northern Illinois.
