Just over two weeks ago, Ohio (11-10, 5-4 Mid-American Conference) lost its seventh game in a nine-game stretch; now, the team has bounced back, winning four of its last five games to get above .500 both in the MAC and in the regular season with its most recent win Tuesday night by a score of 91-70 over Buffalo (2-18, 1-7 Mid-American Conference).
Ohio achieved its fifth win in conference play through a highly effective transition offense that saw the team score 22 points off of 12 turnovers. Overall, it was a balanced attack for Ohio in which the team had six scorers with at least nine points.
Despite the team having one of its better performances of the season, it wasn't until a 3-point outburst from Ajay Sheldon and Miles Brown in which the guards combined for three 3-point field goals that helped Ohio take a 15-12 lead.
While Sheldon made his threes the conventional way, Miles Brown made one of the craziest 3-pointers you will ever see. While trying to find Jaylin Hunter under the basket for a pass, Brown's lob from well beyond the 3-point line went into the basket.
Ohio then went on a 15-2 scoring run to take a 32-18 lead. The Bobcats' run featured 6 fast break points and a 3-point jumper from Shereef Mitchell. Ohio ended the first half with four more fast break points, including an impressive dunk from Aidan Hadaway and a made 3-point jumper from Jaylin Hunter that put Ohio ahead 41-26.
"We always talk about how we're very good in transition, so just get out running, capitalizing off turnovers, capitalizing off one-shot rebounds, just being able to get out and go," center AJ Clayton said. "We've got so many people that are so dynamic in transition, so that's a big part of our game."
The Bulls got hot to start the second half, but the Bobcats responded with more high-flying dunks, including one from Clayton as part of a stretch where Clayton outscored Buffalo by himself 8-1 for a nearly two-minute stretch.
Sheldon made an acrobatic and-1 layup to push Ohio's lead towards 20 and more fast break points from Sheldon gave Ohio a 60-39 lead. Ike Cornish then made a 3-point jumper to give Ohio its largest lead of the game to that point.
The Bobcats made even more 3-pointers and high-flying dunks before the final buzzer sounded on their 91-70 win over the Bulls. Although Buffalo may not be the strongest team Ohio has faced in the MAC, Ohio didn't make the mistake of playing down to its competition, as its 21-point win was its largest in conference play.
Ohio was led by Clayton with 16 points, who was trailed very closely by Mitchell, who had 15 points, while Sheldon set a career-high with 15 points. Jaylin Hunter may not have had his best day as a scorer with 10 points, but he impressively led Ohio in steals, assists and rebounds.
According to Ohio coach Jeff Boals, the team's mentality since losing several close games has led to the team's recent success.
"I think the mentality of our guys, the focus of our guys, especially the last 2.5 weeks, has been very impressive," Boals said. "The leadership has been really good ... the preparation, the mindset it's been good so far."
