A 60-53 win puts Ohio in front
Ohio had its worst season in program history two years ago.
The Bobcats now have the best record in the Mid-American Conference.
A •60-53 win at Ball State on Saturday left Ohio as the only team with one loss in conference play; a rapid recovery from the 2012-13 squad that had a lone MAC win.
Ball State coach Brady Sallee didn’t need to see much more than Ohio’s 28-to-8 points in the paint-edge to determine which team was tougher.
“No matter what the mismatches were, they were tougher than us in every position,” he said. “They were a better basketball team. I give them a lot of credit.”
It was a situation the Bobcats had found themselves in before: an early lead was replaced as the opponent clawed its way back, making for a tight finish.
Ohio led by 15 with 12:44 remaining, but the Cardinals went on a 16-0 run and led 46-45 with 7:10 to play.
“It’s part of the game,” Ohio coach •Bob Boldon said. “Good basketball teams go on runs. Nobody in here came into the game thinking we would win by double digits or anything like that, they’re good.”
Saturday’s win proved Ohio is a complete offensive team. Even if one aspect is off, the Bobcats find another way to produce.
Boldon has admitted in the past his team would “live and die” depending on the 3-point shooting that particular night. In some instances, the 3-point game has been a major reason why the Bobcats have strung together big leads and momentum swings.
But against the Cardinals, the Bobcats struggled from the outside and shot 6-of-24. As a result, it switched its point of emphasis to attacking the lane, outscoring the home team 28-8.
“We’ve got to find another way to score,” Boldon said. “You’ve got to find a way to score the basketball and I thought our kids did that. …We found other ways to score and it was nice to be able to pull out a win.”
Ohio, off to its best start since 1995, returns to the floor on Wednesday against Akron (15-6, 6-1 MAC), the second place team in the MAC East. A win in arguably the biggest game in 20 years would put the Bobcats two games clear in the divisional standings.
“I think we’re a little bit tougher than we were at the beginning of the season,” Boldon said. “We grew and matured a little bit and they came together as a team.”
@charliehatch_
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