Ohio falls to Akron for the second time this season, No. 3 seed in Mid-American Conference.
It almost seemed surreal.
As soon as Ohio crawled back from a 19-point deficit early in the first half, Akron coach Keith Dambrot called an inbounds play for Noah Robotham who then swished a 3-pointer from the right side of the arc.
Robotham’s shot might as well have been a bullet into the heart of the Bobcats.
Poof … There went Ohio’s chances at a No. 1 seed in the Mid-American Conference.
With the MAC regular season title on the line Tuesday night at the James A. Rhodes Arena, Robotham and the Zips bombarded the Bobcats with 20 3-pointers leading to a 91-76 win to secure the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The Zips finished 20-of-43 from the 3-point line. Ohio went 8-for-25 from three.
Akron (23-7, 12-5 MAC) swept Ohio in the regular season and dominated Ohio with its 3-point shooting to do so. The loss puts Ohio (19-10, 10-7 MAC) at the No. 3 seed for the upcoming conference tournament.
“I thought they hit some really tough ones,” Ohio coach Saul Phillips said. “There were some breakdowns, specifically on the pick and pop stuff where we let them get too far down hill.”
Kwan Cheatham Jr. and Reggie McAdams led the Zips with 21 points in the win. Jaaron Simmons led Ohio with 25 points and seven assists.
It was a valiant effort for Simmons on Tuesday night. The slashing guard posted 25 points in the loss — his 10th 20-point game this season — shooting 10-of-16 from the field. Kenny Kaminski, Treg Setty and Jordan Dartis added 13 points each.
Simmons and the Bobcats were most efficient Tuesday attacking the rim with pick and rolls and backdoor cuts. Seventy-five percent of Ohio’s baskets came from within the arc (21-of-28). Simmons scored 19 of his points from within the key or from drawing fouls. He was 3-3 on free throw attempts.
But Simmons’s effort wasn’t enough, as Phillips said the Bobcats relied too heavily on their 3-point shooting to match the Zips’ streaky shooting.
Phillips said he felt his team ran into a buzzsaw, and maybe, it did. Akron has made 39 3-pointers in the past two games.
“We feel confident every night on the court," Simmons said. "We fought. We were right there."
A second factor that led to Ohio’s loss: offensive rebounds.
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Akron extended multiple possessions thanks to its 18 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points. Ohio only recorded 28 rebounds, four being on the offensive end.
In 28 games this season Ohio has a plus-three rebound average, but was outrebounded by 19 on Tuesday.
Ohio will next travel to Oxford on Friday to reface Miami and lock up a top-three seed within the MAC with a win. The game is the last of the regular season.
“I told (the players) they’re allowed to brute in it until we got home and then we gotta turn the page and move on," Phillips said. "The goal now is to get directly to Cleveland and that’s an attainable goal with a win."
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Lr514812@ohio.edu
