No. 5 Ohio rolls past No. 4 Ball State in MAC men’s basketball tournament

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Getting his first style of the Mid-American Convention males’s basketball event, AJ Brown delivered.

The freshman reserve dazzled underneath the lights of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to assist fifth-seeded Ohio College soar previous fourth-seeded Ball State, 90-70, in a quarterfinal on Thursday.

The Bobcats (19-13) advance to face top-seeded Toledo in a semifinal Friday at 5 p.m. The Rockets superior previous Miami (OH) earlier within the afternoon. Toledo defeated Ohio, 90-75, of their lone matchup this season.

Brown unloaded 17 factors within the first half on 6 of 9 taking pictures, together with a pair of 3s. The new hand was a part of a powerful begin that lifted Ohio to a 54-32 lead at halftime.

He completed with a career-high 28 factors on 10 of 16 taking pictures, together with 5 of 10 from deep. Brown additionally tacked on 5 rebounds, three steals and a block. It’s his sixth recreation with 15 factors or extra this season.

A useful contribution from somebody who’s simply getting their toes moist within the NCAA.

“Particularly after that step-back 3, I already knew it was going to be an awesome day,” Brown mentioned. “I used to be simply feeling it, and my teammates discovered me, and I let it fly and it saved falling. It was an awesome crew win and I’m trying ahead to tomorrow.”

Brown’s common season had been hampered by accidents, however the subsequent leg of the season is off to an awesome begin.

“It feels nice,” Brown mentioned of taking part in within the postseason. “Particularly on this stage within the MAC Match, all the things goes up by 10. Simply having this efficiency actually gave me nice confidence simply to know that subsequent recreation I simply should belief my teammates they usually’ll discover me.”

The Bobcats thrived off Browns’ buckets, attacking the Cardinals protection from all angles.

“It simply goes again to the depth that we now have,” Ohio senior ahead Dwight Wilson III mentioned. “We had extra weapons than them. We had been in a position to get put on them down and get them drained. They received off to an excellent begin 10-4, and we may see that eight-minute stretch the place they had been drained. … that’s after we had been in a position to get that separation.”

Ohio additionally snatched 10 steals, fueling a 20-6 edge in fast-break factors.

“We had been very energetic, very locked in,” Brown mentioned. “We had been in the suitable spots on the proper instances. Simply taking part in with that grit, taking part in with that toughness. Simply getting these unfastened balls, the championship performs, it actually put us out on prime.”

The Bobcats outscored the Cardinals 46-14 in bench factors. Additionally they grabbed a 17-7 benefit in second-chance factors.

After hitting his fifth 3-pointer to place the Bobcats up 83-54 with 8:21 left, Brown trotted throughout midcourt with a shrug for the trustworthy in attendance. He knew it was a particular reward for an adversarial path.

“Simply happy with him for actually staying constructive,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals mentioned. “His perspective has been unbelievable. He is an outstanding younger man, nice household. Sooner or later we knew he was going to do that, and that he was going to be an awesome participant for us.”

Junior guard Jaylin Hunter added 13 factors whereas Wilson hauled in a double-double for 11 factors and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats. Freshman Elmore James (Brush product) contributed 11 factors.

Sophomore heart Payton Sparks led the Cardinals with 21 factors, seven rebounds and two blocks whereas senior guard Demarius Jacobs completed with 11 factors. Junior guard Jarron Coleman and sophomore guard Jaylin Sellers every chipped in 10 factors.

Ball State (20-12) head coach Michael Lewis mirrored on the packages thirteenth 20-win season.

“What they’ve completed for our program and our college within the state of Indiana, they’ve introduced some pleasure again,” Lewis mentioned. “They’ve introduced some satisfaction again. By the best way that they’ve competed this yr. That’s how I’m going to decide on how I’m going to recollect this crew by. I simply advised them within the locker room, it ought to damage, it ought to sting. It ought to be massively disappointing … however I don’t need them to recollect this season for the way it ended.”