The bright lights and big stakes in Ohio’s nationally-televised overtime victory against Toledo held at “The Q” in Cleveland on Saturday made it feel like a preview of the Mid-American Conference Championship.
If Ohio has hopes of furthering its season in March, this weekend’s contest is the type of game it will look to replicate for the remainder of the season. And though Saturday’s win may not end up to be an overwhelmingly momentous one in the big scheme of things, it certainly was a big morale boost for the squad — and not just in the standings. Ohio showed it could compete against the upper echelon of the conference and win crucial games.
From the get-go, the contest had all the makings of a stellar game, with electrifying dunks, individual standout performances and notable point differentials. Ohio junior forward Maurice Ndour and junior guard Stevie Taylor each posted career-best scoring performances to pace the Bobcats. The teams traded punches throughout the duration of the contest — Toledo’s efforts bolstered by junior guard Juice Brown, who poured in 28 points for the Rockets.
Ohio kept pace with the No. 1 scoring offense in the conference — something Brown said didn’t take Toledo by surprise.
“We knew they had talented guys on their team, we knew what we were coming into (Saturday), we knew they could keep up with us with scoring,” Brown said. “We lost our composure a bit through the game, that’s where we had a bit of a downfall.”
The Bobcats trailed by 11 points with nine minutes left in the game, but then proceeded to go on a 14-2 run to give them a five-point lead. The Rockets countered with a five-point swing of their own to end regulation play. Ohio then outscored Toledo in overtime and made several clutch plays, including forcing a five-second call on Brown during a crucial possession.
“Coach (Jim Christian) told us to get lost in this atmosphere, get lost in the game,” Taylor said. “We needed a big stop and we didn’t get it in the regulation — they made some pretty big baskets. Toledo’s a very good team first of all, but at the end of the day we got stops when we needed to get stops and it led to a win.”
Although the Bobcats have survived with second-half magic all season, they had struggled to play a complete game when facing marquee opponents earlier in the year. Ohio has fallen in major tests this season on the road against Ohio State and at home against Massachusetts and Akron.
“I think we dwell so much on one half sometimes, or maybe we didn’t handle pressure well one game, but that doesn’t mean they can’t handle pressure,” Christian said.
“I never lost confidence in any one of these guys, but we needed to prove to one another that we can beat somebody that everyone coming here thinks we (will lose to).”
mk277809@ohiou.edu
@Brandon_Kors
