Western Michigan came into The Convo with its brooms ready.
The Broncos dismantled Ohio on both sides of the ball during their 73-63 win and finished a season sweep of the Bobcats with a combined 26-point margin of victory in their two matchups.
“We played awful, but they played really well,” said Ohio coach Jim Christian. “They beat us to every ball, they were going to the glass at will. … The effort level just never picked up. We never played hard.”
Ohio’s only lead came at 19:01 mark of the first half, when junior forward Maurice Ndour hit a baseline jumper to open the game’s scoring at 2-0.
From that point, the Broncos took it to the Bobcats and exposed their inability to block out opponents on the defensive glass, as Western Michigan grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and edged Ohio 34-28 in total boards.
Ohio’s zone defense was a mess for most of the game, allowing easy penetration for Western Michigan’s guards and open passing lanes for its big men. The Bobcats’ defense often collapsed to the point that it left Broncos shooters open on the perimeter.
Western Michigan finished with 40 points in the paint and 27 second-chance points.
“We felt like we did a great job against Buffalo in turning the page on being tough,” said Ohio senior forward T.J. Hall. “And then (we) come back and lose the game right after on those plays, offensive rebounds, toughness plays. It just knocks us down. It knocks us back a couple steps.”
Senior guard Nick Kellogg led the Bobcats with a team-high 20 points, but the contribution from the rest of the backcourt was minimal.
Starters Javarez “Bean” Willis and Travis Wilkins shot a combined two of 11 from the field for five points and as many turnovers.
Ohio had perhaps one of its worst defensive performances of the season for most of the first half, allowing Western Michigan to put on an offensive exhibition that was fronted by its dominance on the glass.
The Broncos grabbed 10 offensive boards that resulted in an 18-2 advantage in second-chance points in the half. They also jumped out to a 31-18 lead with 5:28 remaining before halftime.
But Ohio held Western Michigan scoreless for the remainder of the stanza, forcing four turnovers and using a 7-0 spurt to cut the Broncos’ lead to 31-25 in a half Christian said Ohio couldn’t have played any worse.
Ndour kept the Bobcats’ offense afloat for a good deal of the half by contributing 12 points, but he was shut down after the halftime break and finished with 14 points to pair with five boards.
His usual frontcourt partner, senior forward Jon Smith, was absent from the starting lineup for the first time this season because of a violation of team rules. Smith eventually replaced freshman forward Antonio Campbell, who had his first start of the season, at the 17:07 mark of the first half.
Ohio junior guard Stevie Taylor returned to action as well after missing Saturday’s game against Buffalo because of a contusion in his calf. Taylor played 10 minutes and scored five points.
After the game, Christian said that Taylor had a fracture in a non-weight bearing bone in his leg, according to an MRI before the game. Christian said it took a lot of bravery for Taylor to play.
“To go in the game today, I thought he showed some courage,” Christian said. “But moving forward, I’m not sure how much he can play. It’s pain tolerance.”
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