In perhaps its most physical game of the season, it potentially was also the last in The Convo as Ohio narrowly edged Kent State 76-69 in a critical Mid-American Conference game.
Sylvester Ogbonda stood next to Kent State’s Danny Pippen, awaiting Lunden McDay to shoot his second free throw.
The two big men jarred back and forth, but Pippen elevated the tension, and once the ball left McDay’s hand, the junior threw his right elbow hard into Ogbonda’s chest, sending him to the ground screaming in pain.
At first ruled a personal foul, upon review the call was upgraded to a flagrant two. With Pippen’s exit arrived the Bobcats’ ability to close out the game.
Ogbonda made one of his two free throws and then charged back down the floor, only to foul out nearly 30 seconds later.
It was a chippy effort from Ohio (15-14, 7-9 MAC) down the stretch. McDay came through off the bench with a steal and several off balanced shots, including a 3-pointer with 2:19 left in the game.
The Bobcats were fouled and fouled with the hopes they would miss, but they shot over 75% from the charity stripe – 8% higher than their season average.
The two halves were mere opposites, however, after Ohio opened up the game shooting 48% from the field and 33% from 3-point range.
Jordan Dartis, the Bobcats’ 3-point king after he broke the program record for most 3-pointers on Feb. 8, opened the game 3-for-3 from the beyond the arc. His silky jump shot snapped the back of the net, none more important than toward the end of the first half that give Ohio a 6-point lead, its largest of the half.
From the opening tip-off, Dartis made plays that were more than just his shooting ability. He was the passer on a transition alley-oop to Preston that gave the Bobcats their first points of the game.
Ohio has now split its season series with the Golden Flashes, and the win couldn’t have came at a better time, as it’s vying to host a first round game in the MAC Tournament.
Before the tournament, the Bobcats will cap off their season with trips to MAC East Division opponents Akron and Miami.
