Six and a half weeks ago, Akron guard Andy Hipsher thought he had the Ohio men's basketball team beat with a reverse lay-up at the end of a second overtime period. It was waived off, and Ohio went on to win 112-104 two overtimes later.
Last night, Hipsher's jumper from the high post with 3.7 seconds remaining in overtime was shrouded in far less controversy, and Akron knocked off Ohio 84-82 in the James A. Rhodes Arena.
Hipsher's latest heroics erased an Ohio comeback that saw the Bobcats (9-14 overall, 5-9 Mid-American Conference) climb back from an 18-point deficit to force their eleventh overtime period of the season. This latest extra-session game came on the heels of a double-overtime win against Western Michigan Saturday.
"I am tremendously proud of their effort tonight," Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said. "There's nothing I can criticize them for what they did in the second half and in overtime."
Trailing 42-29 at halftime, it looked as though O'Shea's concerns about fatigue heading into the team's second game in as many days were warranted.
Akron (11-12, 6-8 MAC) opened the game on a 25-9 run marked by accurate three-point shooting. Guard John Hollingsworth led the Zips, shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. As a team, Akron shot 52.2 percent from the three-point line.
Ohio opened the second half on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 44-39 early in the second half on baskets by forward Brandon Hunter and guard Steve Esterkamp, but it was free-throw shooting that tightened the game.
Ohio finished 23-of-29 from the free-throw line. Hunter, seemingly gaining more confidence as the game progressed, sank two free-throws with 25.8 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 74. He was 4-of-5 from the line in the extra session and finished 12-of-14 for the game.
But it was Hipsher who again proved to be a late-game killer for the Bobcats. The chances of Hipsher making the shot from the high post was a gamble O'Shea said he was willing to take.
"We didn't want (Akron guard Derrick) Tarver to beat us," O'Shea said. "So, we double teamed him. Hipsher's not really a jump shooter, and this time he made a jump shot."
The loss gives the Bobcats a conference split after knocking off Western Michigan 79-72 in double overtime Saturday.
Playing all but four minutes in the game, Hunter scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to pace Ohio, but the clutch play of guard Thomas Stephens saved the Bobcats against the Broncos.
Trailing 60-58 with 5.5 seconds remaining, Ohio forward Jeff Halbert missed a desperation shot that Stephens put back for two of his 17 points to force the first overtime period.
Ohio trailed by as many as four in the first overtime period, but a Stephens three-pointer with 1:23 remaining cut the Broncos lead to one at 67-66. After Western Michigan guard Ben Reed, hit 1-of-2 from the line, Halbert answered with a long two-point jumper to send the game into a second overtime tied at 68.
In the deciding overtime period, the Bobcats outscored the Broncos 11-4, going 9-for-10 from the free throw line, including 5-of-6 from Hunter.
Ohio next meets Virginia at 7 p.m. Wednesday in The Convo.
—Chris Littmann contributed to this story
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Joe Arnold
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Ohio sophomore James Bridgewater aims for a basket against Western Michigan on Saturday in The Convo. The Bobcats came out with a 79-72 double-overtime win and will host Virginia on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
