Coming off its largest home loss of the season against Appalachian State and riding a three-game losing streak in away games, Ohio (13-11, 7-4 Mid-American Conference) desperately needed a win. It did just that against Bowling Green (9-15, 3-8 MAC), it did just that, winning in comeback fashion, 86-81.
Despite the double-digit deficit it would eventually face, Ohio played the first half incredibly close. Bowling Green started on a 10-2 run, capped off by a 3-pointer from Marcus Johnson, the MAC’s leading scorer. Johnson would lead the way for the Falcons with 21 points and five assists, both game-highs, although four second-half fouls would end the big man’s night early.
For Ohio, it was a more balanced effort. The Bobcats saw four players score 14 or more points: Shereef Mitchell, AJ Brown, AJ Clayton and Jackson Paveletzke. Mitchell led the way with 17 of his own, going four-of-five from the field and six-of-six on free throws. Additionally, Ohio’s bench combined for 24 points, outsourcing Bowling Green’s by 5 points.
In the first half, the two teams were even from beyond the arc, with each team shooting four of 12 3-pointers. While Bowling Green became more efficient from deep as the game progressed, Ohio matched it with productivity at the free throw line. The Bobcats drew 28 fouls on the Falcons, equating to 34 free-throw attempts where they shot nearly 90 percent.
At halftime, Bowling Green held a slim 2-point lead thanks to a last-second, second-chance 3-pointer from Johnson. Early in the second half, the Falcons held the keys. While Ohio was able to struggle its way to buckets early, Bowling Green found scoring much easier.
With about five minutes off the second half clock, Bowling Green took a 10-point lead. From that point on, however, it was all Bobcats.
Jumpers from Elmore James and Brown quickly cut the lead to just 4 points despite efforts from Johnson to keep the Falcons in the driver's seat. Ohio would continuously put Bowling Green in a bad position to defend, drawing fouls and free throws, and then converting on their opportunities.
The sparkplug for this chippy, foul-heavy game was Paveletzke’s ability to knife into the paint and draw sloppy closeouts from the opponent. Ohio feasted on forcing scrambling defenders out of position to create a crease to attack.
After the second half's 10-minute mark, the two teams traded buckets, switching between a 2-point Ohio lead and a tie-ball game.
The most crucial stretch of the game came with under two minutes left. After a Johnson floater tied the game, Paveletzke once again got deep into the paint, finding an open Mitchell, who hit an open 3-pointer from the left wing. After great interior defense from Clayton on the subsequent Bowling Green possession, Ohio drew Johnson’s fourth foul with a 3-point lead and 1 minute to go.
At the free-throw line, Clayton gave Ohio a 5-point lead. Johnson would miss a crucial 3-pointer from the top of the key, and sloppy defense around a screen would give him his final foul and Paveletzke two free throws.
Ohio would continue to knock in its attempts from the line, securing the win. The Bobcats will finish the week on the road against the Golden Flashes, looking to finish a regular season sweep Friday at 7 p.m.
