The team has played near-unstoppable basketball over the last six games, all of which Ohio (10-6, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) won. Tuesday night, in a dominant 86-71 win over Ball State (8-8, 2-2 MAC), the team personified the three principles Ohio coach Jeff Boals has set forth.
“Don’t get tired of preparing to win, number 1,” Boals said. “Don’t be comfortable, number 2 … and just come in with the right mindset … this is a mature group and they’ve been doing that day-by-day.”
Following the game, Boals credited his scout team with helping prepare for a Ball State team with multiple offensive plays within its playbook. With that work done, it was up to the players to execute, which they would do.
On the fastbreak, Ohio outscored its opponent 27-0, including a 20-0 margin off turnovers. While the Ohio bench continuously rose to their feet for one highlight play after another, the five players on the court at any given moment never seemed to take their foot off the gas.
The blowout victory came despite a quiet performance from senior AJ Clayton, who took just six shots following performances of 27 and 31 points. Over the past week, Clayton was awarded MAC Player of the Week and Lou Henson National Player of the Week honors.
In place of Clayton’s typical contributions, Ohio saw several other players step up. Juniors Aidan Hadaway and Jackson Paveletzke contributed a team-high 15 points, while graduate student Shereef Mitchell and redshirt sophomore AJ Brown each put in an efficient 12 points.
“We know we’re a good enough team to where anyone can have a night,” Mitchell said. “One through five … even some of the guys on the bench can have a big night. That’s what makes our team so special that togetherness.”
Defensively, Ohio showed it can be just as competitive as any team coming to prove itself against the conference’s preseason No. 1 team. Ohio applied constant pressure at the point of attack, especially containing Jermahri Hill, Ball State’s leading scorer.
“Us guards try to take pride in that,” Mitchell said. “If we see a guard on the opposing team who feels like they’re a good player, we just have to put on our A-game, lock up defensively and do what we have to do to win the game.”
Ohio held the lead for over 37 of the game’s 40 minutes, with the remaining two minutes and change coming at the beginning of the game when Ball State took a 5-0 lead. Just moments later, Ohio went on a 10-0 run and never looked back, extending its lead to as much as 17 points.
Since the start of MAC play, Ohio has held its four opponents to an average of 68.8 points per game, the second-lowest mark in the conference. Offensively, the Bobcats have also shown an ability to deal out punches at the same rate they take them, averaging 84.8 points – the MAC’s third-highest mark – for a conference-leading 16-point margin of victory.
“There’s just a lot of balance,” Boals said. “… They’re a selfless group, they’ve been doing that all year and that’s how you win games.”
