Over 1,000 students stuffed the lower bowl of The Convo as Ohio (10-6, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) completed its impressive fourth straight MAC win to start the season. Energy was high from the start, helping the Bobcats to an early lead that resulted in an 86-71 win over Ball State (8-8, 2-2 MAC).
“It was an awesome crowd and it was great to have students back,“ Ohio coach Jeff Boals said. “The difference that they make with the band, they got into it when we made those runs. It made a big difference for our guys.”
Ohio responded to the energy with another hot start offensively, going on an early 10-0 run after conceding the first 5 points. The Bobcats saw contributions from a myriad of different parties, including Aidan Hadaway who had an early 3-pointer.
Hadaway was the leader for Ohio in the first half, going into the break with a team-leading four rebounds and two 3-pointers. An emphatic dunk from Hadaway midway through the half caused a Ball State timeout and an early eruption from The Convo crowd.
Ohio’s first half was highlighted by flashy dunks and deep 3-pointers that kept energy high inside its home arena.
“I love getting excited and getting fired up with the fans; it’s always a great time,“ Hadaway said.
AJ Brown, a focal point of the Bobcat starting lineup, had one of his best games of the season against Ball State, scoring 12 points and two 3-pointers.
“(Brown) was very active, initially he was driving the basketball, hit a couple big shots there,“ Boals said. “But most importantly, when Shereef (Mitchell) was in there in the second half, (Brown) was the biggest cheerleader off our bench ... This team cares about winning and they care about each other. That was really, really awesome to see.”
For Ball State, Mickey Pearson Jr. kept his team in the game in a high-scoring first half. Pearson led all scorers at the break with 17 points, including three 3-pointers.
While Ohio struggled to slow down Pearson, it was able to limit Ball State’s two leading scorers, Jermahri Hill and Payton Sparks, coming into the game.
“I thought we did a great job defensively with their two key players, Hill and Sparks,“ Boals said. “They put so much pressure on you on the offensive end ... I thought we did a good job on both ends disrupting as much as we could.”
Ohio’s theatrics and efficient scoring led to a 10-point halftime lead that it did not relinquish for the entirety of the second half. The Bobcats traded baskets for the majority of the second half before Ohio could expand its lead to as many as 17 points.
Hadaway, Ohio’s leading scorer in the first half, got into foul trouble early in the second half, resulting in him sitting for long periods in the game's final couple minutes.
With Hadaway on the bench and leading scorer AJ Clayton having a down day, the Bobcats relied on some unusual sources to close the game.
Veteran leader Shereef Mitchell saw time for a good portion of the second half, recording 12 points and three assists to end his impressive day. Mitchell is fresh off an early-season injury, but he has put together back-to-back productive performances for Ohio.
While Mitchell was productive in scoring the ball in the second half, he helped Ohio most on the defensive end with four steals. To end the game, Ohio won the turnover battle by a margin of 15-5 over Ball State.
“We know we’re a really good offensive team, but if we want to be a championship-winning team, that starts on the defensive end,“ Mitchell said. “Us guards try to take pride in that.”
Ohio scored 20 points off Ball State turnovers while allowing no points off its few turnovers.
With the win, Ohio moves to 4-0 in conference play, placing itself at the top of the conference as it prepares for a tough road test against Akron Friday.
