Winter break is over, MACtion was back in The Convo and the fans were back in full force to cheer on the Bobcats. The seats continued to fill up as the ball shot in the air on the opening tip-off Tuesday night, as Ohio welcomed Northern Illinois.
The crowd was calm throughout the opening minutes before senior forward Aidan Hadaway fired a pass up court to freshman guard JJ Kelly, who threw down a massive slam dunk to fire up the Ohio faithful.
“The students coming back made a big difference,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said. “The band was there, dancing and cheering. This is one of the best environments, if not the best in the league. And I know it was cold, so I appreciate everybody coming out.”
The crowd just started to heat up as both teams went into the locker room for halftime. Thankfully for the Bobcats, once they returned to the floor, the fans roared back to life, feeding them endless energy to help hold onto a slim lead.
Both teams began to play more physically once they came out of the tunnel for the second half. Unfortunately for the players on the floor and crowd in attendance, the officiating crew made themselves a major presence in the closing moments of this game, starting and stopping the momentum of both teams numerous times due to foul calls, turnovers and replay reviews.
The chippiness between both sides began to boil over, and it started to get to the Ohio players, who made some critical mental errors down the stretch that they could not afford as the Huskies continued to cut into the lead.
“We always say poise under pressure, and we didn't do a very good job of handling that (final few minutes),“ Boals said. “(As a) veteran team, you've got to be able to close games out the right way, and we missed some rotations, fouled, missed some free throws, let them cut it to three with a chance to tie it at the buzzer. We've got to be better.”
Thankfully for Ohio, it stopped the late-game surge of Northern Illinois, and it was never in question how. Every chance the Bobcat fans in the stands had to boo the Huskies or the refs, they gave it all they had, and the difference was undeniable. They got behind Ohio and helped it shut the door
“Extremely important,” Hadaway said of the importance the fans bring to wins at home. “I love the fans, and I love the band. Everybody just comes and supports. You know, they always bring a certain type of energy every single game. It definitely helps.”
Ohio had to grind out the full 40 minutes on Tuesday, and the road from here only gets tougher. Akron will travel to The Convo on Friday, and Boals and Bobcats will fight for another 40 minutes and put on our show for its hometown fans in Athens.
“Friday is a big game, national TV game, so hopefully give another great crowd and pack that student section," Boals said.
