AKRON — The Bobcats don’t have a go-to scorer, and they’re willing to admit it.
They view themselves more as a team filled with potential number one options. Whoever scores the best on a given night is alpha for a day. Then they re-evaluate for the next game.
“I think with this team, just because of how we are, I think it’s got to be by committee,” coach Saul Phillips said. “You ride the hot hand.”
In Tuesday’s 71-68 loss to Akron, Gavin Block had the hot hand. Block tied a career high with six 3-pointers and made important shots to keep his team within range.
But on the two possessions where Ohio needed him most, Block didn’t convert.
With 32 seconds remaining, the Bobcats ran a play designed to free Block for an open 3-pointer. Block caught the ball in the corner and tried to draw a three-shot foul.
The refs didn’t bite, and Block air-balled a contested 3-pointer, which resulted in a shot clock violation. Block drove the baseline on the next possession and missed a contested layup under the rim.
After Tuesday’s loss, Ohio is 2-5 in games decided by five points or less. They don’t have a consistent top choice to take shots at the most pressing points of games.
But do they need one?
“I don’t think so,” Block said. “Who’s got the hot hand is gonna be who’s gonna step out for us. I don’t think we need to clarify who’s gonna take the shot in a game situation like that.”
Block could be right. Seven games is not a large enough sample size to declare anything a problem or solution.
The Bobcats could be a team that hasn’t had enough time to practice situationally because of roster turnover and injuries. Maybe they’re still learning the nuances of each other’s playing styles.
Maybe the Bobcats have been plain unlucky in close games.
But as Phillips likes to say, the conference standings don’t care about his team’s hardships. If the Bobcats don’t have an evergreen primary option, they’ll need to work around that.
Teyvion Kirk scored four points in the second half after shouldering the load with 12 in the first. Zach Butler, Kevin Mickle and James Gollon took two combined shots in 18 combined minutes in the second half.
Jordan Dartis and Mike Laster, who both have taken shifts as conductors of the offense this season, struggled to find a rhythm after each sat out for long stretches with foul trouble. They combined for six fouls compared to five made field goals.
Which, as Phillips said afterwards, is not enough.
The Bobcats played like a high-powered offense again during the second half against Eastern Michigan on Saturday. They solved a defense and soared offensively for the first time in two weeks.
Phillips hoped his team could continue that momentum into Tuesday’s game against a man-to-man defense.
The results?
“At times, very good,” Phillips said of his offense. "But again, in crunch time, when we needed to be able to generate a hoop, we weren’t able to do it.”
