Ohio (9-7, 1-3 Mid-American Conference) lost to Kent State (13-4, 2-2 MAC) 66-52 on Tuesday inside The Convo.
The Bobcats trailed by 11 at the half, but surged to tie the game in the second half before giving up a sizable Golden Flashes’ run, which proved to be the difference in the game.
The loss is Ohio’s second straight conference home loss.
Here are three stats that mattered in Ohio’s loss:
4
Number of field goals made by Teyvion Kirk, who struggled through most of the night. Kirk took tough shots, but he shot the ball 22 times and finished with 11 points. The offense seemed stagnant for much of the night, and Kirk was shouldered with creating his own shots from the point guard position.
Jason Carter, Ohio’s best player, took just one shot in the first half, largely being double teamed when he touched the ball. Ohio shot poorly in the first half, and improved to start the second half before hitting a wall mid-way through. Kirk’s tough shooting night hampered the Bobcats.
16
Minutes for James Gollon, who missed the first 12 games of the season with an injury. Although the Bobcats lost, Gollon’s long stretches of playing time looked promising. The redshirt junior took decent shots at times and played well defensively.
But after Ohio tied the game at 41 midway through the second half, Gollon was involved in two straight Ohio turnovers, which directly led to a Kent State scoring run. Such are the pains of coming back from an injury and shaking away some preseason rust.
Gollon’s presence, win or lose, is a welcoming sign for coach Saul Phillips; Gollon adds some much-needed experience and depth on the floor, and he’ll be a crucial piece for Ohio as it attempts to weather a 1-3 start to conference play.
20 percent
Percent of 3-pointers made by the Bobcats. Ohio’s not a good 3-point shooting team. Phillips knows that, and he’s said as long as Ohio is average from 3, it’ll have success.
But going 4-of-20 from beyond the arc isn’t average. It’s bad, especially at home. The Bobcats had trouble generating offense all night; Kent State’s defense gave Ohio fits. The lack of 3-point shooting didn’t help that, as the Flashes were able to pack the inside on defense and limit Ohio’s high-percentage shots.
