Ohio's in the record books. After defeating Western Michigan 77-64 in The Convo on Saturday, Ohio secured a 19-3 record through 22 games for the first time in program history.
The win didn't come without a struggle. The Bobcats (19-3, 10-1 Mid-American Conference) clawed through a back-and-forth first half with the Broncos in which they missed their first four 3-point attempts. After Jason Carter went on a tear early in the second half, the Bobcats grabbed the lead and never let go. .
Here are a few quick reactions to Ohio's win over Western Michigan:
Tight first half
Ohio stumbled out of the gate. The polish in the first half that often pushed it out to early double-digit leads against other MAC opponents wasn't there against Western Michigan. It missed its first four 3-point attempts. Turnovers fed into Western Michigan's hot start from beyond the arc.
The Broncos even managed to get out to a 10-point lead before the Bobcats stormed back on a 14-0 run midway through the half. But the Bobcats still had to fight. They trailed for almost 10 minutes and only led going into halftime thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Mark Sears.
Carter pulls Ohio ahead
Jason Carter had scored 11 points in the first half against Western Michigan. He nearly matched that five minutes after halftime. Carter scored 10 points and was perfect from the floor in the opening five minutes of the second half, and his performance catapulted Ohio into a lead for the remainder of the game.
Carter ended the game with 27 points and 10 rebounds. He knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, but the redshirt fifth year embraced his roles as Ohio's big man on the court and commanded the paint.
History made
The Bobcats are treading new ground. No other team in program history has been 19-3 through 22 games. In the 1940-41 season, the Bobcats dropped their final regular season game to finish 18-4. Another squad from the 1936-37 season lost their 22nd game and ended the regular season 19-4.
Ohio had to battle through a murky first half, but it exploded after halftime to earn the best start to a season in program history.
