It can't get much uglier for the Ohio men's basketball team than it did last night as the Bobcats fell to the Miami RedHawks in Oxford.
Ohio's 54-65 loss to Miami was the second contest the Bobcats dropped to the RedHawks this season by double figures. Frustration abounded for the Bobcats (14-8, 8-6 Mid-American Conference) as they struggled on both sides of the ball.
The Bobcats' offense was almost non-existent, as it has been for the majority of February, and the main reason was forward Leon William's foul trouble. Williams fouled out for the second straight game in only 17 minutes of playing time. Four of his five fouls were called on charges, three of which occurred in the first half.
We have to find out why he is getting so many fouls
Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said. With him on the floor for only 17 minutes that limits what we can do in the interior and we were really handcuffed by his foul trouble.
The Bobcats would slink into halftime trailing 22-38 as Miami (14-8, 11-3 MAC) pushed their lead up with a basket as time expired in the first half.
The Bobcats came out of the locker room on a mini run, but Miami quickly responded. Then, after Williams picked up his fourth foul not even midway through the second half, O'Shea did something he has not done in his five seasons with the Bobcats - get charged with a technical foul.
I was just frustrated because I felt we were really getting a very tough whistle
O'Shea said. I have looked at the tape
and I feel I should talk to the head of officiating about this because this is the second game in a row where Leon hasn't even been able to be on the floor. It's very frustrating.
After Miami converted on the technical free throw, the RedHawks' lead was up to 22 at 55-33 and all hopes of a second half comeback had basically evaporated with Williams on the bench.
However, Ohio did receive some offensive production from forwards Sonny Troutman and Johnnie Jackson, who both tallied 14 for the 'Cats. The 14 points was a career-high for Jackson as he continued to be one of the few offensive sparks the Bobcats have had over the last month of conference play.
Ultimately, the Bobcats continued to fight back as they closed the game on a 14-2 run but were unable to get close to their magical number of 65 this season. The 'Cats haven't lost a game in which they scored 65 points this season, but as of late, Ohio has had problems getting its score into the 60s.
Meanwhile, the RedHawks shot 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from behind the arc. The Bobcats hit just seven-of-23 from three-point land and their shooting percentage improved as the game wore on. They shot 41 percent collectively from the field.
They had a great night and executed exceptionally well against us
O'Shea said. They hit a lot of tough shots
so hats off to them.
The Bobcats look to rebound at 8 p.m. Saturday when they play host to the Samford Bulldogs in The Convo for their ESPN Bracket Buster matchup. The game will be shown on ESPN 360.
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Nick Miller
