Ohio looked down and out against rival Miami but made a dramatic comeback in the final minutes of the second half, taking the RedHawks to overtime in a 67-64 Bobcat win.
Trailing the entire second half, Ohio (7-13 overall, 4-6 Mid-American Conference) seemed to be handing Miami an easy win before a 3-pointer by guard Jaivon Harris gave the Bobcats their first lead of the half with little more than a minute remaining. Harris, who finished with 22 points, added another 3 in overtime - after Miami (10-7, 6-3 MAC) had shut down his outside shot for most of the game.
We kind of knew they were going to be playing me like that
Harris said. I came up (with) a decent game against Central (Michigan) and usually when I come up with pretty nice games people tend to play me a little tougher than they have before.
Ohio forward Jeff Halbert came up with a defensive rebound on a missed dunk by Miami guard Juby Johnson and was sent to the line to add two free throws. But Johnson came back a hero for Miami hitting a 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to tie the game at 54.
The Bobcats had a chance for the win, picking up an offensive rebound in the final seconds, but Ohio forward Sonny Troutman missed the putback. Troutman got a chance to redeem himself in overtime though, scoring on a layup for the final lead of the game with 14 seconds remaining, followed by two Halbert free throws.
I gave Thomas a fake 'cause he is a good shooter so I assumed they were going to try to switch over and stop him from getting the shot
Troutman said. They left the lane wide open
and I just took it to the hole.
The freshman gave up seven turnovers for the game, but in the end his defense and big plays made up for it. Troutman grabbed his fourth steal of the night in overtime to score on a fastbreak layup.
Troutman sparked us because he came up with a couple big steals to get us going again
Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said.
Miami made some big shots late in the game, including 3-pointers by Johnson and forward Gene Seals, but fouls hurt them in the end. Ohio went to the line to account for six points in overtime. Miami had 21 fouls; Ohio also had 21.
This game did this rivalry proud tonight
O'Shea said. This is the big game of the year playing Miami
and it really was an incredibly exciting game with both teams making big shots down the stretch.
Ohio's offense was sloppy for the second half, but its defense kept it in the game.
When we were down we just weren't hitting shots and guys were getting frustrated because we were getting decent looks and they weren't going down
Harris said. But once we got a couple buckets our defense pretty much kept us in the game the whole time. We got a couple stops
we got a couple scores
and we were right back in it.
The RedHawks extended on a 26-22 halftime lead to break out to a nine point lead early in the second half, holding Ohio forward Delvar Barrett and guard Thomas Stephens shot 0-13 between them from the field.
Ohio had four players in double figures, led by Harris' 22 points. Forward Dan Horace paced Miami with 15 points, and Johnson had 13.
Ohio next faces Ball State at 3:30 Saturday in The Convo.
