Ohio trailed by a single point with 25 seconds to play when senior guard D.J. Cooper made the decision to drive to the hoop.
He did so, to the right of the paint, elevated and released with one hand. The ball nicked the rim, fell and was snatched by Denver senior guard Chase Hallam.
Ohio fouled, and Hallam missed his first attempt from the line but connected on the second.
Twelve seconds later, Ohio senior forward Reggie Keely put up the Bobcats’ final attempt of the game.
It was the last of their season, and of the senior class’ collegiate career — the most heralded in program history.
“We had the looks that we wanted, the people with the ball that we wanted — unfortunately (we) didn’t make either shot,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said.
The scoreboard read 61-57 when time expired, only after Denver sophomore forward Royce O’Neale slammed home an emphatic, two-handed dunk with a second remaining.
Denver (22-9) moves on to face Maryland in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament. Ohio (24-10) takes a plane ride home Wednesday morning.
The bounce is gone from Ohio’s step; it will be a bit before basketballs are dribbling again in The Convo.
Christian said the Bobcats’ plays were drawn up just how they practiced them.
Cooper deserved to have the ball in his hand with the clock ticking down, and Keely presented the best chance for a foul or high-efficiency shot — a double-edged sword, Christian said.
It was a conversation he didn’t feel he needed to have with his team when Hallam’s free throw clanked off the iron.
“We knew what play we were running,” Christian said.
Keely failed to adjust to contact on an isolation play Christian said he probably should have finished. Still, Christian wouldn’t have drawn it up any other way had he been permitted the chance.
“I told (Keely), ‘If we played this game 100 times and I was in that situation 100 times, I’d call the same play every time,’ ” Christian said.
Ohio led by two heading into the break — the benefactor of a seven-point Cooper flurry that featured a jumper, layup and three free throws within a 1:51 span.
The points were Cooper’s first of the game but provided a burst of momentum at the half.
It seemed to be what the doctor ordered for Ohio.
The Bobcats went on another run — this time for eight points — sandwiching the second half’s media timeout. A pair of Cooper 3-pointers and a jumper from junior guard Travis Wilkins gave Ohio a 42-35 lead with less than 15 minutes to play.
From that point on, though, the Bobcats’ trigger finger faltered.
Denver outscored Ohio 26-15 throughout the duration of the game en route to its first-ever NIT win.
Christian didn’t fault his team’s willpower.
“Guys play hard,” he said. “Teams are going to go on runs.”
Still, key cogs of Ohio’s offense were silent Tuesday.
Ohio redshirt senior guard Walter Offutt averages more than 10 points per game but had none against the Pioneers.
He said Monday it was going to “be hard” to get excited about playing in the NIT.
Junior starters T.J. Hall, a forward, and Nick Kellogg, a guard, combined for seven points on 3-of-9 shooting.
All season long, Christian has emphasized the Bobcats’ response to hardships. Like in Monday’s game, Ohio responded to its adversity and expectation well at times this year.
Its regular season Mid-American Conference Championship was the program’s first in 19 years.
But the Bobcats came up just a hint short in securing a shot at making their final impression something truly memorable.
Then again, there are a couple other memories this year’s senior class has had a hand in creating that will be remembered in Bobcats lore long after Tuesday’s loss is forgotten.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
