The Ohio men's basketball team found itself trailing by 19 points with 15 minutes remaining in the second half of its game last night with Buffalo.
The scene looked all too familiar for the Bobcats and the Bulls, reminding both squads what happened at last year's Mid-American Conference Tournament championship game. But last night, the Bobcats (12-4, 6-2 MAC) weren't able to make the amazing run they did last year to comeback and beat the Bulls as they fell 70-51 in Buffalo's Alumni Arena.
The Bulls came out on fire, just like they did in Cleveland last March, knocking down shots from well behind the 3-point arc and many were deep into the shot clock. However, it wasn't Buffalo's sharp shooting that kept the Bobcats from scoring.
We just didn't have energy and they were hot
Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said. But for them to shoot the percentage they did it was a sure sign that we didn't have good energy on defense.
Buffalo started the game in a zone defense and completely disrupted the Bobcats' offense. Rarely was the ball able to be moved into the paint and so the 'Cats settled for 3-pointers that continuously bounced off an unkind rim. The Bobcats fell behind by 16 in the first half and were only able to cut the lead to 11 heading into halftime.
Following in the second half, the Bulls pulled away as their shots continued to fall. The Bulls shot 66 percent from the field for the game including 60 percent from the land of three.
Our energy wasn't good on defense; they had too many good looks and we weren't able to defend them at all O'Shea said. We didn't meet the challenge tonight. We had to try and make something happen and nobody was making shots.
The Bobcats never gave up, though. Ohio employed its full-court pressure, which got them back into the game in Cleveland but didn't have the same success in Buffalo.
One reason Ohio had a tough time scoring against Buffalo's zone was that forward Leon Williams was unable to get the ball in the post. Fatigue played a part as O'Shea defended his big man, and when Williams did get the ball he was swarmed with Buffalo defenders.
Playing a few minutes in the second half, Williams was unable to even attempt a shot in the game, a first in a Bobcat uniform.
Any game in which Leon goes scoreless will be a tough game for us O'Shea said. He just didn't have anything in the tank; he was very
very tired and couldn't get any offense going in the paint.
The Bobcats finally got their game going and started to turn the Bulls over, but it was too late and the lead was too large. The Bobcats were able to pull within 11, but Buffalo's Yassin Idbihi came down on the next possession and put in two of his game-high 22 points. From then on the Bulls stretched out their lead until the end of the game.
The Bobcats will return home for another MAC matchup with Miami, who are (9-8, 6-3 MAC), Sunday where both teams will battle for their spot in the MAC East. Miami is coming off a 52-45 loss at Akron. Tip-off is at noon Sunday in The Convo.
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Leon Williams lays up a two-pointer during Tuesday night's 66-63 win over Akron. The Bobcats fell to Buffalo 70-51 last night and will take on MAC rival Miami at noon Sunday in The Convo.
