Ohio traveled to Huntington, West Virginia, for a date with rival Marshall on Sunday but was sent home with an 81-67 loss by the Thundering Herd.
Dwight Wilson III’s double-double (24 points and 12 rebounds) was the highlight of Ohio’s offense. Jason Preston added 19 points, and Ben Vander Plas finished with nine. Coach Jeff Boals commended Marshall’s toughness and looks forward to seeing how the Bobcats respond to their second loss of the season.
Here are the numbers that mattered in Ohio’s loss to Marshall.
17
Turnovers were Ohio’s worst enemy against the Herd. The Bobcats’ 17 turnovers came at critical points in the game and often took away the momentum the Bobcats were trying to build. Despite the limited attendance, Cam Henderson Center can still be a tough place to play when you can’t build momentum.
Ohio’s turnovers made sure that Marshall kept the edge.
28
Ohio has already faced some of the best players in the country. Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu looked like he could’ve been the toughest player the Bobcats would lace up against this season. That would be wrong.
Taevion Kinsey cooked the Bobcats for 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Kinsey is one of Conference USA’s most electrifying players. On Sunday, he lived up to his reputation.
55
Both teams took 55 shots from the field, but Marshall made its count more.
The Herd outshot the Bobcats 54.5% to 40%. It was a quiet day for Ohio’s Lunden McDay. McDay had four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field. McDay will have to play a big role in Ohio’s offense this season. He’s already shown he has the skill to contribute on a high level, but his inexperience is bound to come with some inconsistency.
4
Since Ohio’s Dec. 18 home game against Mississippi Valley State was canceled, Sunday’s game was the first of four consecutive away games for the Bobcats. Ohio returns back to the court on Dec. 22 at Akron to kick off Mid-American Conference play. Following the trip to Akron, the Bobcats have stops at Miami (Dec. 29) and Ball State (Jan. 2) before finally returning to The Convo on Jan. 5 to face Northern Illinois.
Last season, Ohio was 4-9 on the road, and it’s currently 0-2 in away games this season (Chicago State and North Carolina A&T were neutral sites). This stretch will not only set the tone for Ohio’s start to conference play, but it’ll also tell if the Bobcats are capable of thriving on the road.
