Ohio fell 88-81 in overtime to Akron Wednesday at The Convo. The Zips (23-4, 13-0 Mid-American Conference) won their second-straight game against Ohio (20-8, 11-2 MAC.) Follow our chronological coverage of the game below.
Pregame
There are a number of reasons Ohio’s Wednesday game against Akron is the biggest held at The Convo for quite some time.
It’s the first time since 1997 that a ranked team will face Ohio there, and that team happens to be ranked for the first time in its history and riding an 18-game winning streak.
To compound matters, the Bobcats (20-7, 11-1 Mid-American Conference) had one of their most disappointing performances of the season against Akron (22-4, 12-0 MAC) in the teams’ first meeting, as they fell by 14 at James A. Rhodes Arena.
There are no secrets to either team’s success, and even if there were they’d be exposed early in front of what is anticipated to be a raucous Convo crowd.
Akron does many things well, but the most significant is its play in the paint.
The Zips average 38 rebounds and 5.8 blocks per game, both MAC highs, and had 40 points in the paint and as many rebounds in the teams’ earlier meeting.
Ohio coach Jim Christian acknowledged that Akron is a handful to control under the basket.
“We have to try to neutralize them on the backboard,” he said. “There’s no formula for it. It’s some toughness, it’s some heart, some willingness and some want to do it.”
In order to do so, the Bobcats will have to slow Akron junior guard Alex Abreu, who spurred the Zips’ Zeke Marshall, a senior center, and Demetruis Treadwell, a junior forward, to action in their previous defeat of Ohio.
Also, senior guard Brian Walsh is averaging 11 points per game on 65 percent shooting in the Zips' last three games.
“Those guys didn’t beat us, Abreu beat us,” Christian said. “He had 21 points and nine assists. He beat us. If you let guys get in the lane, teams will be successful.”
His competition will be Ohio senior guard D.J. Cooper, who is 42 points, three assists and two rebounds away from becoming the first player in NCAA history to notch 2,000 points, 900 assists, 500 rebounds and 300 steals.
Cooper said the game’s implications make it even bigger than usual in his mind.
“That definitely plays into my mind, just because it’s basically for the league championship, a title and No. 1 seed,” he said.
Look back at the Bobcats' last game, a 19-point loss to Belmont, here. Read beat reporter Jim Ryan's game preview here. Follow him and The Post Sports on Twitter for game updates.
First Half
Ohio's starting five is Cooper, redshirt senior guard Walter Offutt, junior guard Nick Kellogg, senior forward Reggie Keely and junior forward T.J. Hall.
Abreau opened the game's scoring with a three-pointer not long after the opening tip, which Treadwell followed with a layup. Christian called a timeout less than a 90 seconds into the game, after two more Akron points.
The Zips continued their charge to the 17:30 mark before allowing Ohio four-straight points on Keely and Hall layups, respectively.
Ohio senior guard Ivo Baltic checked in at the 17-minute point.
The game reached its first minor boiling point before even hitting the first media timeout, when Cooper and Akron junior forward Nick Harney brushed against one another after the whistled and were issued double technicals.
Kellogg put the Bobcats within three just inside the 15-minute mark on a drive from the corner.
Cooper then tied the score on a dish from Baltic with a three-pointer from well beyond the arc.
Ohio junior guard Travis WIlkins checked in for the first time after Marshall converted a layup lob at the other end of the court.
Offutt re-tied the score soon thereafter with a transition layup, which was emulated by Cooper less than a minute later.
Ohio redshirt junior forward Jon Smith and sophomore guard Stevie Taylor made their first appearances with 10:37 left in the first half.
The score was tied at 13 at that point.
The Bobcats moved out to their first two-possession lead after the timeout, as Wilkins drained a pair of free throws and Smith converted a layup and dunk on back-to-back possessions.
A Hall three-pointer then extended Ohio's run to nine points inside the nine-minute mark.
Ricardo Johnson, an Ohio junior guard, drove to the hoop and was fouled early in his first appearance and converted both free throws to increase the Bobcats' run to 24-4.
After a pair of Cooper free throw makes, Ohio punched in two-straight three-pointers to up its lead to 32-16.
Keely threw down a one-handed dunk in transition heading into the final media timeout, at which the score was 34-22 in Ohio's favor.
The Zips continued to even the margin in the half's waning minutes, but with 35 seconds on the clock Offutt hit a three from the wing to give the Bobcats a 41-29lead. Abreu hit a runner with two seconds remaining to move within 11, however.
Halftime: Ohio 41, Akron 30
Ohio shot 56 percent from the floor and were 5-of-8 from three-point range in the first half, while Akron shot 52 and 60 percent, respectively.
Cooper led the Bobcats with 10 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists, while Wilkins, Hall and Offutt contributed seven points apiece.
Treadwell was the Zips' offensive leader, as he had 10 points. Abreu had five.
The Bobcats scored 11 points off the Zips' six turnovers and had 15 rebounds to their nine.
Second Half
Treadwell opened the Zips' second half scoring with a bank off the glass a minute into the stanza.
Keely did the same 20 seconds later to gain Ohio's first points.
The two traded contributions once again just more than a minute later.
Akron climbed within five of Ohio by the 17-minute mark, though, on back-to-back buckets from Marshall and an open dunk by Harney.
An Akron three from freshman forward Jake Kretzer brought the score within two by the first media timeout.
Another from the top of the key gave the Zips the lead with 15:30 remaining.
Ohio climbed back to tie the score at 49 inside the 12-minute mark, but an Abreu three-pointer on the Zips' next possession gave them the advantage once again.
The Bobcats were shooting only 23 percent from the floor at the 11:30 mark.
Kretzer and Cooper traded three-pointers over the next minute of play to move the score to 55-52.
Abreu hit a three with just more than 10 minutes remaining to up the Zips' second half total to five.
A three-point play from Wilkins moved the Bobcats within three of the Zips with 8:50 to play.
A pair of Cooper threes less than two minutes later to tie the game. Kretzer hit a three-pointer of his own, however, on the Zips' next possession to grant them the lead once again.
An Offutt tip-slam off a Cooper miss brought the score within one with 3:34 remaining.
Offutt then hit a three-pointer to tie the score once again, but soon thereafter Hall fouled out to put Marshall on the line with 2:25 remaining.
He made both shots.
Akron called a timeout with 1:56 remaining after an empty possession by Ohio.
Treadwell hit a pair of free throws to bring Akron's lead to four with 1:06 remaining.
Marshall then fouled out of the game after being whistled on a Keely layup, which he converted. Keely missed the ensuing foul shot.
After forcing an Akron with 12 about 12 seconds remaining, Ohio had one last trip down the floor while trailing by two. Offutt missed a contested three-point attempt, but Smith tipped it in to send the game to overtime knotted at 72.
Overtime
Kretzer scored the first two points of the overtime period on a pair of free throws.
After a layup by Walsh, Offutt made one of two free throws with 2:50 remaining to bring Ohio within three.
Treadwell then collected an Abreu miss for an old fashioned three-point play to give the Zips a six-point lead with 2:16 remaining.
Keely was blocked on a layup attempt, and then Harney was fouled on Akron's ensuing possession.
He made one of two shots, but Cooper drove the length of the floor and knocked down a layup to keep the game within five.
Abreu was then fouled and made both shots.
After Kellogg dribbled the ball off his knee and out of bounds, Abreu made a pair more three pointers for the Zips.
Cooper was then fouled while going for a three with 1:05 remaining, and made all three shots.
The Bobcats failed to get back on defense, however, and Kretzer slammed home an open transition dunk.
Offutt made a pair of free throws, though, with about 45 seconds remaining to bring Ohio within five.
Harney committed an offensive foul against Smith with 41 seconds remaining, and Smith made one of two.
Ohio trailed by six at that point.
It fouled Treadwell on the inbound pass, and he made one of two from the line.
Taylor missed a layup with 20 seconds remaining.
Final: Akron 88: Ohio 81
Ohio was unable to muster enough to snap Akron's 18-game winning streak in overtime despite Marshall having fouled out late in the second half and Smith's tip-in to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation.
Statistics
Cooper: 26 points, five rebounds, four assists
Offutt: 15 points, nine rebounds
Keely: 10 points, five rebounds
---------
Treadwell: 21 points, seven rebounds
Kretzer: 19 points on 6-for-6 shooting
Abreu: 16 points, nine assists, five rebounds
Marshall: 16 points, four blocks, seven rebounds
Reactions
"I thought in the second half we got so caught up in the emotion of the game that we came out of character and we didn’t make them work defensively." — Christian
"(The loss) just makes us a little more hungry. We don’t control our own destiny now. We’re pretty much just playing for seeding. You have to stay with it and now (put) our eyes on trying to get to the NCAA Tournament." — Cooper
"When we get them down like that we have to continue to get stops. I don’t think it falls too much on our offense because sometimes shots aren’t going to go in, but you have to tough it out on defense and defend and rebound." — Offutt
"We just didn’t finish out the last four minutes strong in overtime. They made some key plays and got a couple put-backs. We tried to fight our way back in and they just ran away with it." — Cooper
Up Next
Ohio makes the trip to Bowling Green, Ohio Saturday for a 12 p.m. tip against Bowling Green. The Falcons (12-16, 6-7 MAC) beat Miami 52-44 Wednesday. Ohio came out on top in the teams' first meeting by a score of 72-63.
