Ohio Bobcats strike down CMU men's basketball
Ohio Bobcats strike down CMU men's basketball
With 16 seconds remaining on the clock, Central Michigan men's basketball trailed the Ohio Bobcats by two with a chance to force overtime as the ball was passed to guard Kyler VanderJagt for the final possession of the game.
VanderJagt drove to the hoop and let it fly from close with one second remaining, but the shot was off the mark and CMU lost 84-82.
The loss now puts them at 11-15 on the season and 4-9 in Mid-American Conference play. The three game loss streak places Central Michigan at ninth in the MAC, one spot shy of a conference tournament bid.
The Chippewas started the game off hot taking a 12-6 lead through the first five minutes with Ohio's offense struggling to box out in the paint, tilting the rebound advantage in CMU's favor.
A Bobcat timeout reset the momentum, allowing Ohio to cut the lead to two when an AJ Brown three made the score 23-21 with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
The interior efforts of forward Ugnius Jarusevicius continued to propel the Chippewa offense as the defense began to go cold allowing both teams to trade points. That was until a foul on a fast break allowed the team from Athens to take its first lead as it sprung ahead of the Chippewas 33-32 with five minutes remaining in the first half.
CMU guard Jakobi Heady found his offensive footing in the final five minutes of the half, scoring the final nine points for his team, allowing Central Michigan to close the first half with a 41-38 lead.
Central Michigan hit the ground running in the second half, establishing its presence in the paint as Jarusevicius attacked the rim scoring twice in the opening minute. However, Brown continued to fight, immediately drilling a three in transition to allow Ohio to reclaim a 45-44 lead only three minutes into the second half.
With 14 minutes remaining in the game Jackson Paveletzke extended the Bobcats lead with seven points in a row for his squad, giving his team the 55-48 advantage.
Heady continued his momentum from the first half, showing off his range as he let a deep three fly to cut the deficit to three with nine minutes remaining. However, Ohio continued to stand firm, knocking down a pair of threes to make the score 71-64 with under eight minutes remaining.
Heady and Jarusevicius took over the game, scoring 11 straight between the pair for their team as CMU battled back to make the score 80-77 with 2:40 left to play.
In the final 2:40 Central Michigan did not complete a successful field goal, forcing CMU to exit with an 84-82 defeat.
The outcome makes this the seventh loss for the Chippewas this season decided by three points or less.
Heady led his squad in scoring with a career-high 35 points and five rebounds on 50% shooting from the field. Following was Jarusevicius who finished with 25 points and six rebounds.
CMU is back on the road to take on rival Western Michigan University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22.
