Coming off a massive victory over the Mid-American Conference’s far-and-away No. 1 Akron, Ohio (15-13, 9-6 MAC) couldn’t keep its streak alive on the road. Against Western Michigan (10-18, 7-8 MAC). Ohio fell 82-73 on the back end of a career night from junior Chansey Willis Jr. and several self-inflicted wounds.
Willis Jr. scored a Division I career-high 34 points and had a game-high eight assists. Following the game, when asked if he had anything left in the tank, he simply answered, “I do not.”
Willis Jr.’s performance was accompanied by big-time buckets from junior JaVaughn Hannah and a double-double from graduate student Donovan Williams.
Conversely, Ohio’s typically prolific offense continued to harm its chances of winning, especially in the clutch. Graduate student Shereef Mitchell led the way with 21 points, but the team as a whole suffered mightily at the free-throw line and the rim down the stretch.
Ohio shot just 8-of-14 from the free-throw line. The defense came through in regards to forcing Western Michigan to cough up the basketball, accumulating 15 steals, but couldn’t drown out a blistering hot night from the field.
The Broncos shot 42 percent from 3-point range and over 50 percent from the field as a team. While Ohio scored several buckets early on, Western Michigan seemingly gained control of the game right away.
On his own, Willis Jr. accounted for the Broncos’ first 11 points, scoring 9 and assisting on the other two. By the end of the half, he’d already accumulated 16 points and two assists. Ohio was able to keep it competitive, ending the half down 36-33 despite their offensive flaws, largely due to physicality and their aforementioned ability to tally turnovers.
Offensively, Ohio’s frustration came through on a couple of plays. Freshman Elijah Elliott saw some time on the bench after shoving a Western Michigan player and early in the second half, Ohio assistant coach Lee Martin earned a technical foul.
The Bobcats gained early control of the second half. Redshirt sophomore AJ Brown scored 8 points in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the half, with Elliott scoring 2 and assisting on two of Brown’s buckets.
As the game wound down, however, Ohio would be unable to keep this control. Willis Jr. would continue to make big shots any time the Bobcats got going, and the Broncos would capitalize on every one of their opponent’s mistakes.
With under four minutes left, facing down a 70-68 lead, graduate student Vic Searls would swipe the ball away from Williams under the rim. As both teams ran up the court, Mitchell would be unable to corral the ball and Western Michigan would regain possession, scoring on a layup.
On the other end, Ohio would struggle to make its easy ones under the rim. Off a rebound, down 77-70 with under a minute-and-a-half left, junior Jackson Paveletzke would miss the fast break layup. Brown was close behind and able to get the offensive rebound, but would again miss leading to free throws on the other end for the Broncos.
Thankfully for Ohio, it maintains its tie with Toledo for fourth in the MAC, well within striking distance of a top-three spot by the time the conference tournament rolls around. Ohio will finish the season facing three teams it has previously lost to in Miami, Eastern Michigan and Toledo, the first of those two coming in The Convo.
