Losing by two points with nine seconds to play, D.J. Cooper shot a layup and took a hard foul. The ball rolled on the rim for a few seconds, almost giving the Bobcats a tie with Cooper shooting one free throw for the lead.
Instead, it fell off the rim, Cooper made only one of two free throws, and Robert Morris closed out the Bobcats with two made free throws and a 79-76 overtime win yesterday at The Convo.
Cooper's desperation 3-pointer from beyond half court fell short at the buzzer, and the Bobcats dropped their fifth home game of the season.
The second one I just short-handed trying to make it. I just missed it
Cooper said of the free throws. It's not a good feeling. Not a good feeling at all. It's like it's your fault.
The game told an all-too familiar story for Ohio (7-7). Flashes of good play helped the Bobcats build a 42-30 lead in the second half, but the Colonials (5-8) used a 33-14 run during the next 10 minutes to take a 63-56 lead.
Whenever Ohio tried to start a run, a turnover or missed shot thwarted the chance.
Meanwhile, Karon Abraham scored a game-high 28 points for Robert Morris, as he beat the Bobcats both inside and outside, hitting five three pointers and shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
He's really quick said freshman guard Nick Kellogg. He's a smaller guard. I think size bothered him when we got our hands up but he had a really quick release. He's a good shooter and he's a good player.
Kellogg nearly won the game for Ohio by himself. The freshman hit a 3-pointer to pull Ohio within 63-60 with 3:11 to play. Two minutes later, he stole the ball from Abraham and was fouled with the score 64-62. He made both free throws to tie the game.
The Bobcats went to Kellogg again in their last possession with the score tied at 66, but the freshman missed the game-winning 3-pointer off the side of the rim to send the game to overtime.
I just wanted to win
Kellogg said. I got a good look
it just didn't go in that time. It's a tough feeling. It's tough to lose this one.
In the extra period, the Colonials struck first for a 69-66 lead. They made 11 of 13 free throws and played mistake-free basketball. The Bobcats shot only 3-for-8 from the line in overtime and were only 21-for-34 for the game.
It came down to them shooting
quite honestly
78 percent from the free throw line
coach John Groce said. Normally
when you're plus-11 from the free throw line
you like your chances. But we just left some points at the line a little bit today.
The teams combined for 58 3-point attempts. Many of the shots came from far behind the line and early in the shot clock, but Groce said he was happy with the team's percentage.
Any time that you look at the stat sheet and you shoot 39.4 percent from 3
you're going to take that
