Ohio's second half struggles resulted in a loss to St. Bonaventure on Saturday.
In Ohio’s first two losses it came back from double-digit first half deficits and created competitive games until the end.
But the script was flipped in the Bobcats' 80-70 loss Saturday against St. Bonaventure — this time they competed early before struggling in the second half of a double-digit defeat.
Ohio (2-3) shot just over 43 percent from the field the first half and three Bobcats went into halftime with eight points. The Bobcats also held a 37-36 halftime lead.
They came out of the locker room for the second half and scored the first five points, but a 14-2 run by St. Bonaventure kickstarted the Bonnies’ second half domination.
“The second half we didn’t move the ball,” senior guard Javarez “Bean” Willis said. “The first half we came out we were moving the ball, the second half we got stagnant. It’s hard to give yourself a chance — our team — when we’re not moving the ball.”
Willis and senior forward Maurice Ndour each led the Bobcats with 16 points and three assists. Their six assists accounted for two-thirds of the Bobcats’ nine assists in the game. Although the Bonnies (6-1) finished with just five assists, the Bobcats weren’t able to keep up without moving the ball properly.
Sophomore forward Antonio Campbell, who was one of the players with eight first-half points, finished with his first career double-double on 14 points and 14 rebounds. With Wadly Mompremier only scoring three points in the past three games, coach Saul Phillips said he needs to look at the starting lineup, because Campbell “has a big upside.”
Campbell was matched up with St. Bonaventure’s 7-foot, 245-pound forward, Youssou Ndoye, who was held to 3-of-10 shooting and eight points, but grabbed 12 rebounds.
“I thought I played him pretty well,” Campbell said. “I tried to take away the left-hand jump hook, I did pretty good, he just had the rebounds.”
The Bobcats are now under the .500 mark for the first time since 2011, but Phillips said “it’s a process” and they aren't focusing too much on losses. He also noted that all three losses have come against teams that have been in recent NCAA Tournaments, and may play in the postseason tournament again this year.
“It’s really important as a group that you keep things in perspective, that you rally together, and understand that the three teams that we lost to are all good teams,” Phillips said. “That didn’t make me feel better tonight.
“Put it this way, our goals and aspirations didn’t go down in flames tonight.”
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