FINAL (OT) OHIO 82, MIAMI 76
The "Cardiac Cats" once again make a dramatic comback in the closing stages of the game and won in overtime. The Bobcats swept the RedHawks in the "Battle of the Bricks" this season.
OVERTIME
Miami hit a jumper at the shot clock buzzer, but Kellogg responded with a three-pointer, making it 71-70. Both teams got anxious, and the next basket didn't come until a Willis three from the midcourt logo as the shot clock expired with two minutes left. A putback from Setty gave Ohio a 76-72 lead with 90 seconds to play. On the ensuing possesion, Miami thre the ball out bounds. Two converted free throws from Ndour gave the Bobcats a 78-72 lead with 39 seconds left.
Poor offensive possesions and Bobcat free throws gave Ohio the lead late, as they held on to the victory.
FINAL STATS
Ohio:
Field goals- 30-61, 49.2 percent
Three point shooting- 10-23, 43.5 percent
19 turnovers
Nick Kellogg- 11 points, two assists, one rebound
Jon Smith- eight points, three rebounds, one assist, one block, one steal
Antonio Campbell- six points, two rebounds
Travis Wilkins- six points, two assists, one rebound
Bean Willis- three points, three assist, one rebound
Treg Setty- two points, four rebounds, two assists
Maurice Ndour- one point, one assist, one steal
Miami:
Field goals- 29-61, 47.5 percent
Three point shooting- 4-21, 19 percent
14 turnovers
Willie Moore- 13 points, two rebounds, two steals, one assist
Will Sullivan- six points, one rebound
Jaryd Eustace- six points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal
SECOND HALF
Miami started the second half on a 9-4 run, forcing Ohio coach Jim Christian to call a timeout a little over two minutes into the half. The RedHawks quickly gained momentum and held a 49-43 lead at the first media break. Miami still had a 55-49 lead at the second media break. At the final media timeout, Miami was up 66-63. With just over a minute to play, a Maurice Ndour put back cut the RedHawk down to 68-66. Ohio forced a steal with 30 seconds left, but turned the ball over in the front court. With seven seconds left, a three from Travis Wilkins rolled in and out. Ohio would've had a one point lead. The Bobcats forced the RedHawks to shoot a one-and-one, and the first shot rimmed out. Ohio regained the ball and called a timeout with 5.6 seconds to play.
In the last five seconds, Campbell threw a full court pass to Ndour who made a layup with 1.7 seconds left, tying it at 68-68. Kellogg got a steal on the inbounds play and buried a three with .2 seconds left. The refs waved it off and said he was out of bounds, but when to midcourt to review the decision. The shot did not count. The RedHawks missed the halfcourt shot, sending the game to overtime.
FIRST HALF 37-33, OHIO
A Nick Kellogg trey opened up the scoring, but Miami responded with an 8-2 run heading into the first media timeout. Midway through the first half, the Bobcats were 5-of-8 from three, helping them pull out to a 23-18 lead. Heading into the third media timeout, Ohio clung to a 27-23 lead, which slightly increased to 29-27 at the final media timeout. Miami was able to tie the contest at 30, but the Bobcats had back-to-back possesions with Jon Smith layups, to put Ohio up 34-30 with 52.6 left in the half. "Bean" Willis was scoreless in the first half until he buried a three with 20 seconds left to play, resulting in him letting out a scream and beating his chest on top of the "M" logo at midcourt. A RedHawk three finished the half at 37-33, Ohio.
FIRST HALF STATS
Ohio:
Field goals- 15-27, 55.6 percent
Three point shooting- 6-10, 60 percent
Nine turnovers
Nick Kellogg- 11 points, two assists, one rebound
Jon Smith- eight points, three rebounds, one assist, one block, one steal
Antonio Campbell- six points, two rebounds
Travis Wilkins- six points, two assists, one rebound
Bean Willis- three points, three assist, one rebound
Treg Setty- two points, four rebounds, two assists
Maurice Ndour- one point, one assist, one steal
Miami:
Field goals- 14-27, 51.9 percent
Three point shooting- 1-9, 11.1 percent
Seven turnovers
Willie Moore- 13 points, two rebounds, two steals, one assist
Will Sullivan- six points, one rebound
Jaryd Eustace- six points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal
PREGAME
The Bobcats look to sweep Miami in the "Battle of the Bricks" in their last game of the regular season. Ohio won 82-75 on Feb. 8, when the teams last met. Following the Akron win last night, it's concrete that Ohio will Monday night in The Convo in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Starters
Ohio:
Antonio Campbell, forward
Jon Smith, forward
Javarez "Bean" Willis, guard
Nick Kellogg, guard
Travis Wilkins, guard
Miami:
Will Felder, forward
Willie Moore, guard
Will Sullivan, guard
Quienton Rollins, guard
Geovonie McKnight, guard
Felder leads Miami averaging 14.9 points per game to go along with seven rebounds.
Campbell will get the start for the Bobcats for the second-straight contest. He had 11 points in the game against Bowling Green.
