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Day One of MAC Championships Ends

By Ethan Felderstein | Mar. 7, 2015

The first day of the Mid-American Conference Championships has drawn to a close with the Bobcats finding themselves in fourth place with 55.0 overall team points. Ohio split its 20 total matches, winning 10.Walters Returning to Title MatchCody Walters, a 174-pound redshirt junior, is headed back to the conference title match after cruising to two early victories. This will be the third consecutive trip to the title match for Walters, as he reached the feat previously the past two years. He won both matches previously and will go against the top-seeded Johnny Eblen, a redshirt senior from Missouri.Wellington Stays Undefeated in Conference PlayPhil Wellington, a 197-pound redshirt junior, kept his perfect 10-0 record in MAC play alive, earning a 4-0 decision over Kent State’s Cole Baxter and a 6-1 decision over Old Dominion’s Kevin Beazley. Wellington will appear in his first conference title match tomorrow against sophomore J’Den Cox of Missouri.Claxton and Hightower Fall ShortTywan Claxton, a 149-pound redshirt junior, will not have the opportunity to earn his first conference championship of his career, as he was defeated in the semifinals by Missouri redshirt senior Drake Houdashelt. Claxton will fight for an automatic bid to Nationals tomorrow as he’ll begin with Michael Depalma of Kent State.Harrison Hightower, a 165-pound redshirt senior, also fell short of his first bid to the conference title match, losing by decision to the second-seeded Cooper Moore of Northern Iowa. He’ll hope to earn a bid to the third-place match tomorrow when he’ll wrestle Mike England of Missouri.Top Seeds Reign SupremeLooking at the tournament overall, every single top-seed advanced to their respective conference title match. Missouri has eight wrestlers in title matches, including two of them against Ohio wrestlers. The 133-pound match between Zach Synon of Missouri and Tyler Keselring of Central Michigan will be the most important of the day as the conference is only allocated one automatic bid in that weight class.

The Post

Previewing Ohio's quarterfinal matchup against Minot State

By Tony Wolfe | Mar. 7, 2015

No. 6 Ohio's five unanswered goals Saturday morning were more than enough take down No. 11 Liberty 5-2 in the American Collegiate Hockey League tournament's round of 16, but now the Bobcats must quickly turn their attention to a new challenger in No. 3 Minot State.

Hockey

Ohio advances to ACHA quarterfinals with 5-2 win over Liberty

By Tony Wolfe | Mar. 7, 2015

No. 6 Ohio avoided a repeat of last season's one-and-done in the American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament in Strongsville, Ohio, today, rattling off five unanswered goals in the final two periods and defeating No. 14 Liberty 5-2. Ryan Heltion got the start in goal for the Bobcats and picked up the win.

Bean Willis

Ohio snaps streak on senior night led by Willis's career night

By Alex Busch | Mar. 6, 2015

When Javarez “Bean” Willis hit a three from the “O” in “Ohio” at halfcourt, it looked to be a making of another dominating offensive performance.It was senior night for Willis and the Bobcats, and some who have watched Ohio for the past four years may have called his career-best 34-point night during his last game in The Convo a D.J. Cooper-type performance.He’s done it before, however, during his two seasons with the Bobcats. But Friday’s 95-65 win over Miami exemplified another level of domination by Ohio (10-19, 5-13 Mid-American Conference). Amid a seven-game losing streak, the team’s seniors — Willis, Maurice Ndour and Stevie Taylor — found a way to close out their careers with the Bobcats' largest senior night victory since 2006.After a 27-point loss against Buffalo on Tuesday, it was a complete flip in performances after just a three-day span. Friday, coach Saul Phillips commended the seniors, adding that they were a more collective unit compared to the past games when one problem would create a domino effect, ultimately leading to a discouraging loss.“I just thought we really shared the ball well regardless of what offense we were in,” Phillips said. “When that happens, it sure is much, much easier to feel good about yourself and your teammates.”The three seniors combined for 67 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists, with Ndour finishing with a double-double (27 points, 11 rebounds). In the past, the Bobcats have been forced to live and die by individual performances, but on Friday they were fueled with an all-around showing that had the entire team clicking on all cylinders.Willis, a guard, hit a program fourth-best 10 3-pointers on 15 attempts and was 12-for-20 from the field. But he dished the ball around as well, which helped get his teammates into the game. He finished with six assists.“Pop it. If you’re open, by all means,” Taylor, a guard, said. “That’s just our relationship just as seniors and how we police each other and be OK with it.”Miami (13-18, 8-10 MAC) struggled to get things going out of the gate, as it shot just 32 percent in the first half and the Bobcats went into the locker room with a 23-point lead. Miami came out in the second half firing, but it ultimately resulted in a loss, as it finished shooting 36 percent from the field.But the outcome really came from an unmatched energy by Ohio, fueled from the three seniors’ final home games as Bobcats.“We made each other better today. We played off each other,” Willis said. “If I had to go out any way, then I wouldn’t take it any other way.”With the results around the MAC on Friday, Ohio will hit the road to take on Western Michigan (19-12, 10-8 MAC) Monday in the first round of the MAC Tournament.@Alex_Busch91ab109410@ohio.edu

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