OXFORD — Toughness and fortitude are often the most used clichés in the book, but those terms describe Ohio’s performance Saturday with a come-from-behind overtime victory against Miami in the regular season finale.
The Bobcats suppressed a second-half offensive surge from the RedHawks and played inspired down the stretch to win 82-76, despite already having their Mid-American Conference Tournament fate sealed. Ohio will host a first round game Monday.
The Bobcats (21-10, 11-7 MAC) clawed back to tie the game at 68 apiece after junior forward Maurice Ndour scored a layup with two second remaining. And the game nearly went the Bobcats’ way in regulation, as senior guard Nick Kellogg stole the ensuing inbound pass and made an improbable 3-pointer as time expired. However, his basket was waived off because he was ruled out of bounds.
Ohio proceeded to outscore the RedHawks 14-6 in overtime with the help of two big 3-pointers by Kellogg and redshirt junior guard Javarez Willis, who finished with 15 points.
Coach Jim Christian said he was pleased with the tenacity of his squad as four Bobcats finished with double-digit points.
“We’ve haven’t had a lot of depth,” Christian said. “Only because of injuries we’ve had four of our top six guys out almost all year long … I give more credit to the resiliency than the depth because we do have guys, Nick Kellogg, Travis Wilkins, they’re playing thirty five minutes a night, we only have one point guard he plays thirty six minutes a night so that’s tough for us. “
It was a historic day for Kellogg, who finished with 14 points and became Ohio’s all-time 3-point leader early in the first half. He passed D.J. Cooper’s previous mark of 274 makes and now has 277 career makes from beyond the arc, which ties him with Miami’s Landon Hackim for the most 3-pointers in MAC history.
”It’s something that I’ll probably look back on and appreciate more than right now in the moment,” Kellogg said. “I just want to come out there with a (win) and get some momentum going into the MAC Tournament and hopefully continue to improve and get better and hopefully be playing in Cleveland for a while.“
While the Bobcats quickly settled into a shooting groove from behind the arc in the first half, that momentum was erased in the second half despite leading at the break,
Miami (12-17, 8-10 MAC) came out of the locker room hot, using a 14-2 run early in the second half to take a six-point lead. It was a back and forth affair until late in the second half, when Ohio junior forward Maurice Ndour scored two baskets, including the one that sent the game to overtime.
Ndour, who did not start for the second straight game, came on strong in the second half and finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Saturday marked his best offensive performance points in three weeks.
He said after getting a rest against Bowling Green on Tuesday, he felt like he has regained his stamina.
“I sat out the last game so coming into this game, coming off the bench it was slow,” Ndour said. “I was able to find my energy and momentum and keep myself in the game.”
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