OXFORD — Shot after shot clanked out for the Bobcats in the first half Saturday as Ohio found itself facing another big first half deficit.
Continuing the trend of starting slow in the first halves of games, the Bobcats could not recover from a 23-point halftime deficit, falling to the RedHawks 73-49 in another puzzling road performance from a team that is just 2-6 away from Ohio in Mid-American Conference play.
“We just can’t wait ’til the second half to just all of a sudden try and turn on the switch,” guard Bubba Walther said. “As we found out tonight, we can get blown out, too.”
Had Ohio won Saturday, it would have ensured itself a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament. With the loss, Ohio dropped into a tie with the RedHawks for the much-coveted fourth seed, making the two remaining games that much more crucial for the team.
Ohio shot just 19 percent from the field in the first half and had just 14 points at the break, a season low. The Bobcats also struggled from behind the arc, shooting 2-of-13 from 3-point range during the first 20 minutes.
Though the Bobcats (18-10, 8-6 MAC) missed many shots from behind the arc, they also blew many lay-ups and mid-range jump shots.
“It’s a funny thing that’s been going on the past few games,” Walther said. “We’re missing chipees, we’re missing wide open 3’s. We missed shot after shot.”
While Ohio could not make anything, the RedHawks came out at a scorching pace led by forward Michael Bramos. Through the first half, Bramos outscored the entire Ohio team, totaling 19 points on his way to a game-high 31.
From the opening tip, the Bobcats always seemed a step behind Miami, falling behind 25-9 midway through the first half, a hole which they never recovered from.
With Ohio unable to get leading scorer Leon Williams good looks at the basket, the team resorted to 3-point field goals, hitting only one of their first 11 from behind the arc.
“We got behind so quick and I think in our mind we tried to get it back in one possession,” Walther said. “We couldn’t get anything going. It was frustrating.”
Following the horrific shooting performance in the first half, the woes continued for Ohio as the RedHawks built their largest lead at 29 points early in the second half.
“It got to the point where we ultimately could not get Leon the ball,” coach Tim O’Shea said. “They knew that they could guard him if we weren’t shooting the ball.”
Williams had a frustrating night, shooting 4-of-8 from the field and totaling 13 points. Each time Williams touched the ball in the post, multiple RedHawk defenders mobbed the Bobcats’ big man, forcing him to give up the ball before he got a good look at the basket.
“That was our defensive goal, to really swarm him whenever he touched the ball,” Miami forward Tim Pollitz said. “We did that for the most part, and he only shot eight attempts.”
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