Dec. 27, 2006
Box Score | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio men's basketball team returned home from a six-game road trip in convincing style Wednesday night, when five Bobcats reached double figures in scoring to earn a 97-69 win over Rhode Island at the Convocation Center.
The Bobcats (8-3, 0-0) used strong shooting and a large rebounding advantage in the victory to score a season-best 97 points. Ohio finished the contest 32-of-57 (56.1-percent) from the floor, including 10-of-18 (55.6-percent) from beyond the three-point arc. The Bobcats held a 45-28 edge in total rebounds over Rhode Island (7-6, 0-0), and out-rebounded the Rams 28-10 on the defensive glass. Ohio also scored 12 points on the fast break against Rhode Island's six. The Bobcats continued their solid shooting from the charity stripe as they hit 23-of-31 (74.2-percent) from the free-throw line.
Junior Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) co-led the Bobcats with a season-best 19 points and also grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for the 20th double-double of his Bobcat career. Williams was 8-of-16 shooting in the contest and also recorded a blocked shot. He was not the only Bobcat to post a double-double, as sophomore Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds for his team-best fifth double-double of the season. Tillman also contributed three assists and a block in the win.
Senior Stephen King (Richfield, Minn.) continued his impressive season off the bench for Ohio as he recorded a new career-high 19 points in Ohio's home victory. King was on fire from downtown as he hit his first five shots from behind the three-point line before missing his final long distance attempt. He also dished out five assists in the win. Junior Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) had a big scoring day with 17 points and matched King's five successful three-point attempts. Walther was 5-of-8 from downtown and 6-of-8 overall in the contest. The junior transfer also tied teammate Whitney Davis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) with a game-best five assists. Davis also reached double figures in scoring with 16 points on the day. He was 6-of-8 from the free-throw line and added five assists and a block.
Darrell Harris and Jimmy Baron led the Rams with 15 points apiece in the loss. Harris also led the team with six rebounds while Keith Cothran added 12 points for Rhode Island. The Rams were 28-of-69 (40.6-percent) from the floor and made just 16 trips to the free-throw line, converting on eight of the attempts.
The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead in the contest and never looked back as Ohio never trailed in the contest. Ohio scored the first eight points of the game in the first 97 seconds of action and held Rhode Island scoreless for the first 2:29 of the game. The Bobcats made eight of their first 10 attempts from the floor while strong Ohio defense limited the Rams to just two successful attempts in eight tries. The results was a 13-3 Bobcat lead to open the contest.
Ohio's run continued from there as the team forced six Rhode Island turnovers in the first 7:30 of play. King connected on back-to-back shots from downtown to cap a 14-3 Ohio run and give the Bobcats a commanding 22-5 lead with 12:21 remaining in the first half. The Bobcats widened the lead to 20 points at 42-22 on Williams' second straight lay-up with 4:22 left in the half. The plays were part of a 12-0 Bobcat run down the stretch of the first half that resulted in Ohio's 55-30 lead at the half. Williams was the leading scorer at the break with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting while King added 12 points in Ohio's dominating performance. The Bobcats were 21-of-35 (60-percent) from the floor in the half.
The Bobcats put the game out of reach right away in the second half as they scored seven of the half's first nine points for a 62-32 lead, Ohio's first lead of 30 in the game. Ohio widened the lead to as much as 37 at 83-47 on a pair of King free-throws before winning by the final margin of 97-69.
Ohio will look to extend its two-game win streak Saturday, when the Bobcats will battle Cincinnati in a "home" contest at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The contest is set to tip off at 6:00 p.m.
