After an “up and down season,” as Ohio head coach Jeff Boals put it, the Bobcats seemed to have gained some momentum heading into the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament against Kent State.
That momentum came from a loss, albeit a nail-biting all-time classic loss against Ohio’s rival Miami (OH) in the final regular season game. Ohio lost in overtime against the undefeated RedHawks and played its best basketball of the season.
If there was any chance of Ohio making a run to the MAC title, it seemed like the Miami performance boosted those chances a bit. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the best performance of the season against Miami remained just that. Ohio fell to Kent State by a final score of 86-75 after shooting just 22.5% from deep with senior forward Aidan Hadaway being ejected after picking up his fifth foul on a technical.
“You guys have seen every game, (this game was) almost a microcosm of our year,” Boals said, addressing the media. “When you play a really good team, our margin for error has not been big.”
The two teams started out slow on the offensive end, with Ohio’s bigs holding Kent State’s All-MAC forward Delrecco Gillespie in check to start the game, forcing some misses on the low block.
On the other end, the forward duo of Hadaway and Javan Simmons were the only Bobcats to show up for the first 10 minutes of the first half. Hadaway had a great start with two 3-pointers and a couple of layups, while Simmons made his presence felt with a pair of and-one layups.
Gillespie and the other Kent big man, Rob Whaley Jr., were able to settle in and get good looks following their slow start.
It was a true battle of the big men, as Hadaway and Simmons combined for 20 of the first 26 points for Ohio. Fellow Ohio big men Kiir Kuany and Jalen Breath had four of the other six.
Hadaway kept his hot streak rolling, driving to the hoop and putting some English on a wild layup that he got to fall. The next Ohio basket was another 3-pointer for the senior forward, coming in the corner off a Jackson Paveletzke assist.
The four-year Bobcat left it all out on the floor in the first half, hitting a fourth 3 to beat the halftime buzzer to cut the Golden Flashes' lead to two after a solid run from Kent State.
It was evident that Hadaway and the rest of the seniors were playing with some extra energy, as any game from here on out could be their last.
The big moment at the buzzer going into halftime for Ohio did not carry into the second half; however, as the Bobcats came out flat to start the second half. The Flashes went on a 17-7 run over the first six minutes of the second half, as Ohio shot just 1-5 compared to Kent State’s 6-9 from the floor over that stretch.
The offense stalled, as Kent State sent help to Simmons and Hadway on the low post, forcing guards Ajay Sheldon and Paveletzke to make something happen, which they struggled to do, finishing the game combining for just 15 points
Ohio received another big hit as Hadaway got into foul trouble, picking up his fourth of the game on an and-one from Gillespie and immediately getting a technical foul for arguing the call, which ended his night and career for Ohio.
“I failed him,” Boals said. “I didn't do enough, holding him accountable.”
The technical foul against Kent State was Hadaway’s sixth of the year. Ohio is third in the country with 15 technical fouls all season.
The Bobcats continued the cold stretch on offense, but they shot enough free throws to keep the game close. A transition 3 from Ajay Sheldon brought the lead back to single digits with just over five minutes remaining.
The momentum kept building as Simmons continued his hot night with another layup and some more free throws.
More free throws from Paveletzke cut the lead to five, one of the smallest deficits since coming out of the halftime break for Ohio.
Even with all of the work that went into cutting the lead and crawling back into the game without its top scorer on the night, the stops never came late in the game for the Bobcats. Kent State got to the well of Gillespie and guard Morgan Safford, who made some tough shots and free throws.
The Flashes went on to close out the game at the free-throw line, ending a tough season for Ohio that will certainly spark a change with the Bobcats.
“We've got to be better, and there's going to be a reset,” Boals said. “This team won't be the same team as it will (be) next year. We're losing a lot of really good players, and we've got two kids signed right now, and we're going to bring a lot more in.”
