Following up a solid road win against Buffalo, Ohio (13-11 overall, 7-5 Mid-American Conference) returned home to The Convo on Tuesday and had a great night shooting the ball to get a big win over Western Michigan.
Ohio shot over 50% from the field, 40% from deep and 80% from the line en route to a blowout win by the score of 91-71 against Western Michigan.
“It's fun to watch,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said. “It's fun to play in, the ball moves, shifts the defense. I've said it all year, when we make shots, we're a different team.”
The Ohio offense got out to a great start, something it has struggled with this year. The guards especially were dialed in early, with senior Jackson Paveletzke knocking down the game’s first three before hitting a nice midrange pull-up jumper.
Along with Paveletzke, both senior Ajay Sheldon and redshirt freshman Jesse Burris were able to make their first 3-pointers. That 3-point shooting onslaught kept coming as more bench players began to check in. Burris started the trend before redshirt freshman and big man Kiir Kuany and senior guard Dior Conners followed suit.
After the pair converted from deep, they linked up for one of the best plays The Convo has seen all year. Conners got some major air on an offensive rebound under the rim before finding a cutting Kuany for a huge slam over two Bronco defenders.
“It was an adrenaline rush,” Conners said. “I just grabbed the rebound. I (saw) him for a split second, and just was able to make that pocket pass.”
Conners kept making an impact, hitting another 3-pointer, his second of the game, while five different Bobcats made a 3-pointer with just over seven minutes left in the first half. That great shooting from deep helped give Ohio a 31-19 lead.
That lead was just the start for the Bobcats, as they jumped on the Broncos with an 11-0 run with even more 3-pointers from Sheldon, who started the game 3-3 from deep with nine points.
Western Michigan guard Jalen Griffith was able to knock down a couple of shots to keep the Broncos from a 20-point deficit, but the Bobcats still went into the half with a 44-28 lead.
The strong shooting didn’t go away in the locker room at halftime either, as freshman guard JJ Kelly made his first 3-pointer of the game on the first possession out of halftime.
Kelly was able to hit another 3-pointer as he became the latest Ohio starter to make his impact felt.
All five starters scored in double digits against the Broncos, with Simmons and Paveletzke leading the way with 17 apiece.
Western Michigan continued to scrap as Griffith and senior guard Jayden Brewer did their best to carry the Broncos. Despite Brewer going a dismal 2-8 from the free-throw line, he finished with 20 points on good efficiency from the floor, as he went 9-14.
Brewer’s poor shooting at the line was a part of an overall awful night at the foul line for the Broncos. They finished the game shooting just 10-25, a poor mark for any team, let alone one that is 2-7 in conference play and fighting for wins.
“We fouled too much,” Boals said. “We're fortunate that they missed. It would have been a completely different ball game.”
Down the stretch, Ohio’s starters did what they needed to do by knocking down their free throws, as Simmons and Paveletzke were able to put to bed an impressive blowout win.
While Western Michigan has certainly struggled this year, the win is still a needed blowout for an Ohio team that has had difficulty dominating teams, and doing so in front of a home crowd is just what it needed as it heads into the final stretch of the season.
