HED: Men’s Basketball: Bobcats’ comeback effort comes up short on the road against FGCU
Ohio was down 25 points at halftime and attempted a comeback on the road, but Florida Gulf Coast stopped it short of a victory.
Coach Saul Phillips said there is no consolation prize for Ohio’s attempted second-half comeback efforts.
Phillips didn’t offer any excuses after Florida Gulf Coast scored 45 points and shot almost 60 percent in the first half, leading by as many as 26 points.
The Eagles didn’t let the Bobcats get into any rhythm from the start and Florida Gulf Coast went into the locker room up 25 points, while the Bobcats made 5 of 31 first-half shot attempts.
“We can’t play that way,” Phillips said. “You give yourself that kind of hole and you’re not going to get it done.”
After halftime, the Bobcats came out with energy like they did during their season opener and exhibition game. Ohio scored the first eight points and got off to a 14-3 run, eventually narrowing the deficit to just 10 with 10:55 to play.
But the comeback wasn’t enough as the Bobcats lost 79-62, leaving Fort Myers, Florida feeling “a little bit kicked in the face,” according to Phillips.
The biggest dagger to Ohio’s defense was Eagles senior guard Bernard Thompson, who finished with a career-high 34 points after making 70 percent of his shots. Whenever the Bobcats (1-1) crawled back within 10 to 15 points, Thompson took the game into his hands and hit a shot.
Ohio, however, limited its point of emphasis coming into the game, Brett Comer, to zero points, though he was hobbling on the floor with an apparent injury for much of the second half.
“I think we did a pretty good job on limiting passing,” Phillips said. “But the bottom line is, losing is the worst feeling in the world. I don’t like it, none of our guys like it.”
Shot selection was a problem for the Bobcats on Wednesday, as they struggled to not only make them but take open looks. Ohio shot under 20 percent in the first half.
“Our shot selection at times is not very good,” Phillips said. “When you take tough shots in the beginning of the game it’s tough to get into that rhythm.”
Senior forward Maurice Ndour and redshirt senior guard Javarez “Bean” Willis were the integral part of Ohio’s second half comeback, beginning with their combination for the first six points of the frame. Ohio ended up outscoring Florida Gulf Coast (3-0) in the second half 42-34.
Despite fouling out, Ndour finished the game with 16 points — 12 of which were in the second half. Willis led all Bobcats scorers with 17 points.
“You saw what happens when we get the ball inside to Maurice (Ndour) in the second half and we just storm back into the game,” Phillips said. “If we play our right style of basketball we can be just fine, if we deviate from that, we’re in trouble. We got in to big trouble tonight.”
“We’ve got to get better because I don’t stomach this stuff well and I don’t think anybody should.”
@Alex_Busch91
ab109410@ohio.edu
