Sylvester Ogbonda took a step back and quickly began to backpedal to the hoop.
Kevin McKay, Central Michigan’s 6 feet, 5 inch guard, was making a charge to Ohio’s hoop with four minutes left as the Bobcats clung to a four-point lead. The Bobcats needed to come up with a shut-down sequence, and Ogbonda, who’s 6 feet, 10 inches, was in position to make it.
Ogbonda threw his hands up as McKay readied for his layup, but the ball never reached the rim. Ogbonda swatted it back into McKay’s hands.
McKay jumped for another attempt. Ogbonda was there to swat it again. This time, it went out of bounds, and Ogbonda batted his chest as the scoring threat stopped.
The Bobcats’ lead only grew from that moment in their 77-69 win over the Chippewas on Tuesday night in The Convo. Pivotal sequences such as Ogbonda’s blocks have eluded Ohio in its first month of conference play, but they’ve been there recently for the Bobcats, who have won three of their last four games.
“I just wanted to play defense and play tough,” Ogbonda said. “I saw he was going right, so I figured he’s going to go back to his right hand. I was just fortunate to get the block.”
When Ohio began the second half with a 33-27 deficit, the Bobcats struggled to push ahead because of the efforts from McKay, who scored six quick points off layups in the first three minutes of the half.
The Chippewas were going to continue to ride with McKay, who finished the night with 23 points and mostly had his way with Ogbonda when he drove to the hoop.
McKay couldn’t do it all for Central Michigan, though. The Bobcats were also riding the hot shooting stroke of Jordan Dartis, who hit four 3-pointers in a two-minute stretch in the second half to push Ohio within two points of the lead. A field goal by Jason Preston and a 3-pointer from Ben Vander Plas put the Bobcats ahead with 13 minutes left.
In previous Mid-American Conference games, that was where Ohio would crumble.
The Bobcats’ first five conference losses were decided by an average of six points. They were in games in perspective of the score, but they struggled to cobble together key turning points that put them ahead.
That was all part of the growing pains Ohio has experienced as a result of its young roster, but now those key sequences are starting to favor the Bobcats.
On Tuesday, one of the most crucial plays happened from Ogbonda, a graduate transfer from Georgia Tech. He’s struggled to limit his foul totals all season and already had four fouls when McKay drove to the basket looking to cut the Chippewas’ 61-57 deficit.
Ogbonda stuffed him. This time, no foul was called. The blocks were clean.
“Those blocks were huge,” Dartis said. “That definitely made us play with more swagger on the defensive end. Credit to Ves.”
The Bobcats didn’t have that swagger in the first month of conference play. They were stuck at the bottom of the MAC East Division and appeared poised for tough results on the back half of MAC play.
Now, Ohio has taken the next step. The Bobcats are 3-2 in February and sit in the final position to receive a home game in the first round of the MAC Tournament.
Will they stay there?
Well, there’s a lot of work left. Ohio will need to somehow hold that position with games against Bowling Green, who has the best record in the MAC, Buffalo, Kent State and Akron.
Ohio has reason to believe, however, that it can keep its position in the standings. Those close games are now finishing in its favor, and late-game sequences are going the Bobcats’ way at the right time in the season.
“I’m just going to stick with my principles of playing defense,” Ogbonda said. “We’ll just live with the results.”
