Ohio (4-18, 2-9 Mid-American Conference) took on Bowling Green (21-2, 10-1 MAC), who is tied for first in the conference. Bowling Green has been one of the hottest teams in college basketball coming into this game, and a victory tonight made it 10 straight for a team that has lost only two games all season.
Knowing that information, the Bobcats knew that they were going to have to play their best basketball all season to be able to pull out the victory. Things looked good in the first quarter for the Bobcats as they kept with a strong Falcons team, down just two after the first.
Unfortunately for Ohio, that was the most that it would be able to keep up with a team that had three players score over 16 points. Bowling Green dropped 27 in the second quarter while Ohio just scored 12, ballooning the lead to 17 at halftime.
The struggles for the Bobcats continued in the second half as they scored a combined 16 points in the third and fourth quarters while the Falcons continued to pull ahead, outscoring the home team's second half total in just the third quarter alone.
"I thought our energy and effort matched pretty good," Ohio head coach Bob Boldon said. "In the second half, just the execution and the shot making, you have that some times."
A key point for this Ohio team is the effort has been there all season long, which is evidence of the work that this team has put in. That has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff and is something that the team can look back on and be proud of.
This has been and will continue to be a rebuilding year for a very young Ohio team. There will continue to be bumps in the road as this team learns how to play with each other. Ohio's next game is Saturday against Northern Illinois as Ohio will look to win its first home game of the season.
