Redshirt sophomore forward Treg Setty said Ohio “laid an egg” on Wednesday.
Buffalo jumped on Ohio’s lackadaisical first-half effort and took a firm two-game lead atop the Mid-American Conference’s East Division with a 69-64 victory at The Convo.
Heading into halftime, the Bobcats trailed 42-27, but with five double-digit, second-half comebacks under its belt in MAC play, Ohio seemed well-equipped to trim that deficit in the second stanza.
However, the first half struggles that have plagued Ohio time and time again proved to be too much to overcome.
“We flat out came out and gave it away,” Setty said. “We just came out and weren’t ready to start the game, and we didn’t play with the sense of urgency. We didn’t implement the game plan, and it really hurt us toward the end.”
Buffalo outmuscled Ohio by grabbing nine offensive rebounds in the first half and making 16 of its 32 shot attempts. Meanwhile, the Bobcats only mustered three offensive boards and shot 11 of 25 from the floor.
On the offensive end, Ohio couldn’t find a rhythm aside from a seven-minute stretch when junior guard Stevie Taylor entered the game at the 13:33 mark and sparked an 8-0 Bobcats run.
Ohio also turned the ball over nine times in the opening 20 minutes, leading to a 16-0 advantage for the Bulls in points off of turnovers.
Ohio junior guard Javarez “Bean” Willis struggled mightily in the first stanza and was a main contributor to Ohio’s turnover frenzy. His pocket was picked three times, each time resulting in Buffalo baskets.
Willis also drew frustration from Christian after getting trapped behind the half-court line, forcing his coach to call a timeout to avoid a ten-second violation.
Willis was subjected to backcourt pressure from the Bulls the entire game — a tactic Buffalo coach Bobby Hurley employed because said he wanted to take advantage of a hindered Taylor in Ohio’s backcourt.
But after trailing by a game-high 17 points with 16:30 remaining in the game, Ohio stormed back on a 12-0 run sparked by hustle plays and strong defense.
Ohio senior wing T.J. Hall sparked the run, making a steal on the defensive end and bringing the ball back all the way to the Buffalo bucket, eventually missing the lay-up. Right behind him was senior forward Jon Smith, who slammed the ball through the iron with authority.
Junior forward Maurice Ndour’s struggles from the field played a contributing role in Ohio’s defeat. He tied a season low with just four points on two of eight shooting and four boards.
“He had a tough night,” Christian said. “Obviously he’s done a lot of great things for us, and he just wasn’t there tonight. He just had a bad night. It’s big though, because in these types of games, your best players have to play really well, and unfortunately that didn’t happen for us tonight.”
Fast Facts:
Buffalo 69 (17-8, 11-4 MAC)
Ohio 64 (19-9, 9-6 MAC)
- Buffalo outscored Ohio in the paint 36-24
- Maurice Ndour tied a season-low with four points
- Wednesday marked Ohio’s fourth straight midweek loss
@c_hoppens
ch203310@ohiou.edu
This article originally ran in print under the headline "Slow first half mars 'Cats shot at victory"
