Nov. 12, 2005
Box Score | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - In his first game as a Bobcat, Antonio Chatman hit for 20 points Saturday as the Ohio men's basketball team rolled to an 86-70 exhibition win over Mercyhurst in the Convocation Center.
Chatman (Charleston, Mass.) came off the bench to lead four Bobcats in double figures. Chatman scored a team-high 20 points, shooting 6-for-7 from both the floor and from the stripe.
Jeremy Fears (Joliet, Ill.), recently listed by ESPN.com's Fran Fraschilla as one of the best 10 sophomore point guards in the country, scored seven of Ohio's first nine points and had a team-high 13 by halftime. He finished with 17 points, three steals and two assists in just 21 minutes of action.
Fellow sophomore Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.), the 2004-05 Mid-American Conference Tournament MVP and MAC Freshman of the Year, recorded seven points and seven rebounds in addition to a pair of steals by the break. Williams completed the game with nine points, a game-high 13 boards, three assists, two steals and a block.
Junior guard Sonny Troutman (Indianapolis, Ind.), one of four returning starters to this year's Bobcat squad, had 10 points and two steals at the halfway point. He finished with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Junior forward Johnnie Jackson (Memphis, Tenn.), who sat out last season after transferring from Boston College, came off the bench to contribute seven points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal as Ohio took a comfortable 53-39 lead into the locker room. For the game, Jackson connected for 11 points.
Mercyhurst, coached by former Bobcat assistant Gary Manchel, hung around early in the contest but after pulling to within one point at 19-18, Ohio went on a 13-0 run to make it 32-18 with 9:39 remaining in the first half.
The Bobcat lead never went below nine points the rest of the opening period and after Mercyhurst closed the gap to 12 early in the second half, Ohio used a 12-0 run to push its lead to 69-45 with 13:37 to play.
Ohio increased its lead to two more before the final buzzer sounded on the first and only exhibition game for the Bobcats.
Avi Fogel scored a game-high 24 points for the Lakers. Fogel shot 10-for-17 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Richard Field chipped in 16 with four rebounds.
The Bobcats shot 56.6 percent from the field (30-53) and 52 percent from three-point range (13-25). Mercyhurst shot 46.2 percent (24-52) from the floor with a 30 percent average (6-20) from beyond the arc.
Ohio out-rebounded the Lakers 31-29. The Bobcats received 35 points from their bench, compared to 10 by the Mercyhurst reserves.
Mychal Green (Columbus, Ohio), a senior guard who led the Bobcats in scoring last year with a 15.0 average, missed the exhibition with tendonitis in his knee. Freshman forward Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) is currently out three to six weeks with a case of mononucleosis.
Ohio will now go on a two-week hiatus before beginning the regular season slate in Athens. The Bobcats are set to meet St. Francis on Saturday, November 26. Tip-time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
