Ohio Sinks Navy 90-55 in Men's Basketball
Bobcats Off to Second 3-0 Start in Four Seasons Under Coach O?Shea
Contact: Jim Stephan
12/4/2004
 Senior point guard Diamond Gladney scored a career-high 12 points Saturday evening against Navy and led the Bobcats with three steals. |
ATHENS, Ohio ? The Ohio men?s basketball team raced out to a 44-22 halftime lead against Navy and never looked back, posting a 90-55 victory Saturday evening at the Convocation Center. The Bobcats moved to 3-0 on the season while the Midshipmen fell to 3-3.
For the third straight game, a different player led Ohio in scoring as freshman forward Leon Williams (Baltimore) took his turn with 16 points and five rebounds. Senior point guard Diamond Gladney (St. Louis) set a career high with 12 points while sophomore forward Sonny Troutman (Indianapolis) matched that total along with a team-high four assists.
?I thought our level of intensity was excellent,? said Bobcat head coach Tim O?Shea, who has registered a win over Navy in each of his four seasons at Ohio. ?We had one day?s rest to prepare for this game. To come out and get a 35-point win is a good sign for us.?
In the first 11 minutes of action, the Bobcats jumped out to 25-9 lead. The Mids cut the advantage to 10 at 27-17 with 5:33 left in the period but the Bobcats closed out the half with a 17-5 run capped by a Terren Harbut (Lexington, Ky.) dunk off a pass from Troutman.
In the second half, the lead never went under 21 and reached the 30s by the midway point of the period. Ohio was able to empty its bench for the first time in this young season.
?I like the fact that it was a team effort and everybody got a chance to get on the floor,? said O?Shea. ?Right now, this team has excellent chemistry on and off the court and we just have to continue to make progression. Talent?s not an issue. I thought the biggest issue we had going into this season was that we had to build confidence and, certainly, we took a step towards that with these three wins this week.?
Harbut ended up with 10 points, three assists and a pair of blocks while Ohio?s fifth starter, Mychal Green (Columbus), finished with nine points, four boards and two assists. Also reaching the scoring column for the Bobcats were Jeremy Fears (Joliet, Ill.) and Stephen King (Richfield, Minn.) with seven points apiece, James Bridgewater (Ann Arbor, Mich.) with five, Cliff McGowen (Westerville) with his first four career points, Whitney Davis (Ann Arobr, Mich.) and Jeff Halbert (White Bear Lake, Minn.) with three points each and Matt Annen (Elk River, Minn.) with two.
Nine Ohio players recorded at least one steal in the game and Gladney led the way with three. Five others finished with two.
?We forced 32 turnovers and it wasn?t a gambling defense,? said O?Shea. ?We were playing just real solid position man-to-man defense.?
For the game, the Bobcats shot 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the field, 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from three-point range and 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the free-throw line. Navy, meanwhile, managed 40.0 percent (18-of-45) from the field, 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from behind the arc and 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the line.
For its next two games, Ohio will leave the friendly confines of The Convo ? where the Bobcats have won 10 of their last 11 contests dating back to last season ? and hit the road to face St. Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday and American on Saturday. Ohio will then host Duquesne and former Bobcat coach Danny Nee on Saturday, Dec. 18, at 2 p.m. in a game that will be televised by the Ohio Sports Network and also shown on Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh.
For ticket information, please contact the Ohio Athletics Ticket Office at 740-593-1300, toll-free at 800-575-CATS or online by CLICKING HERE.
