There was a somber mood at Ohio’s practice Thursday following a sound beating at the hands of Western Michigan the day prior, and Bobcats coach Jim Christian said that no one on the team felt good about their play at that point in time.
Saturday evening, 40 minutes made the Bobcats feel a whole lot better about where they stand.
Ohio went north into James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron and handed the Zips a 66-50 beatdown to reestablish the energy and emotion that was missing for the team just one game prior.
Senior forward Jon Smith said after the victory that the Bobcats knew what they had to do to respond and get back on track.
“It’s hard for coaches to let go of losses, but as a player, you’ve got one (game) coming right up,” Smith said. “We lost and we were disappointed. We felt like we could’ve played better, but guess what? We’ve got Akron coming right now, so it’s over.”
For the first time in Mid-American Conference play, Ohio attacked its opponent early and never let up, leading for all but 2:27 of gameplay.
The Bobcats silenced the 4,918 people in attendance by opening the game on a 14-2 run, with seven of those points coming from senior guard Nick Kellogg.
Akron had a difficult time establishing an offensive rhythm, shooting a season-low 26.8 percent, with leading scorer Demetrius Treadwell shooting 3 of 16 from the field.
Christian said that the Zips not having the presence of perimeter shooters Jake Kretzer and Reggie McAdams because of injuries allowed the Bobcats to focus on limiting Akron’s presence in the paint.
“We were able to pack it in on the catches of both Treadwell and (Isaiah) Johnson and (Pat) Forsythe more than you would normally,” Christian said. “But again, you’ve still got to stop them. And I thought on the perimeter, we did a really good job in the beginning of the game of containing (Quincy) Diggs, because he’s such a volatile scorer.”
Diggs, who scored 20 points in Akron’s 83-80 overtime win against the Bobcats in January, was held to 13 points on 4 of 14 shooting in Saturday’s matchup.
And in a game where the Zips did a good job of containing Ohio junior forward Maurice Ndour, who scored nine points on 4 of 11 shooting with one rebound, a couple of Ohio’s seniors stepped up in his stead.
The duo of Smith and senior guard Travis Wilkins combined for 30 of Ohio’s 66 points, missing only two shots between the two of them.
Wilkins was a dead eye from behind the arc, converting on all three of his shots from there, while Smith scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
“It was the most alive I’ve seen him play,” Christian said of Smith. “He was huge for us. He’s a guy that, when he plays really well, our team plays really well. And if he has a tough night, we usually have a tough night. He’s that important.”
Also stepping up was junior point guard Javarez “Bean” Willis, who contributed on both ends of the floor. He provided lockdown defense, forced three steals and distributed on the offensive end with six assists to add to his six points.
“I was just proud of him,” Christian said. “It was just great to see him respond. He was so disappointed in his effort on Wednesday night and like I told him, ‘Our team is looking at you to see how you respond to when you had a tough night.’ ”
@c_hoppens
ch203310@ohiou.edu
Fast Facts
Ohio 66 (19-8, 9-5 MAC)
Akron 50 (17-10, 9-5 MAC)
Saturday was Ohio’s first victory against Akron in five tries during the Jim Christian era
Akron was held to a season-low 26.8 shooting percentage
Jon Smith recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds
