Ohio has had a miserable record in close games all season long. The trend continued Saturday evening when Tommy Freeman missed a buzzer beater to win and Ohio fell to Western Michigan 85-83.
The game was close throughout with neither team owning a significant lead throughout the game.
Western Michigan led 39-34 at halftime.
In the second half, the game remained very tight. Every possession was of vital importance as the game was constantly within five points or less.
It appeared that Demetrius Ward put the game away for Western Michigan when he made both free throws to put the Broncos up five with nine seconds remaining
But Ohio refused to give up despite the long odds.
D.J. Cooper led the Bobcats down the court and made a three pointer to make it a two point deficit for Ohio with six seconds left.
It came down to a praying game for Ohio.
They had to foul and hope that Western Michigan missed at least one of their free throws while also making a basket of their own before time expires to tie or win the game.
The first part of the plan worked to perfection.
Ohio fouled Western Michigan with four seconds remaining and Mike Douglas went to the line with a chance to end the game for the Broncos.
Unfortunately for Western Michigan, he wasn't the best man for the job as he missed both free throw attempts giving the Bobcats a chance to win the game on a three pointer.
Ohio went down the court and Tommy Freeman put up a three point attempt right as time expired.
Sadly for Bobcat fans, it didn't go in and Ohio went on to lose by 85-83.
Despite the loss, there were some nice performances by Bobcat players.
Cooper played despite injury concerns before the game and went off for 17 points and 5 assists.
DeVaughn Washington had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Ivo Baltic had another decent offensive game as he scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
For Western Michigan, Fienard Whitfield and Demetrius Ward dominated as they combined for 49 points (27 and 22 points respectively).
The key to the game was three point shooting. The Broncos shot 12-21 (57.1%) from three point land on the night and that was the difference in the game as Ohio only shot 5-14 from behind the arc.
With the loss, Ohio falls below .500 again as they go to 12-13 (5-6) and next play February 15th at Buffalo.
Attendance: 3,565
Ohio's Record: 12-13 (5-6)
Interesting Note: Ohio is 3-7 in games decided by 5 or less points
Key Stat: Western Michigan shot 12-21 from behind the arc
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