Dec. 8, 2006
Box Score
PHOTO GALLERY
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Bobcats battled back from a 16-point, second half deficit and nearly pulled off an upset of Big East member Louisville Friday, but the end result was a 74-71 loss at the hands of the Cardinals in the first of three games in three days for Ohio at the NABC Classic.
Ohio (4-2) finished the contest 23-of-61 (37.7-percent) from the floor and held a slim rebounding advantage at 39-36. Louisville finished 26-of-54 (48.1-percent) in the game, but the biggest difference came from beyond the three-point arc. The Bobcats shot a respectable 7-of-20 (35-percent) from downtown, but Louisville hit 11-of-28 (39.3-percent) from long range. For the third straight contest, Ohio was solid from the free throw line as the Bobcats hit 18-of-24 (75-percent) from the charity stripe.
Senior Sonny Troutman (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the Bobcats with 22 points and was 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Troutman added five assists to run his total to 13 in the last two games. Sophomore Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) scored a career-best 18 points in the loss and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double and third of the season. Junior Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) also reached double figures with 16 points and added eight rebounds in the loss. Junior Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) and senior Whitney Davis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) rounded out the Bobcat scoring with eight and seven points, respectively, as Ohio's bench contributed zero points in the loss.
Edgar Sosa led the Cardinals with 22 points, 16 of them coming in the second half. Sosa was 5-of-8 from downtown and also posted five assists. Terrence Williams scored 12 points and posted a game-best nine assists. Brandon Jenkins also reached double-digits with 10 points in the Cardinal win.
The Cardinals wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Sosa hit a three-pointer on the first possession of the game. Tillman answered with a jumper, and after a Louisville free throw Troutman connected on a pair of shots from the charity stripe to tie the game at four. The Cardinals then went on a 10-3 run to take a seven-point advantage at 14-7 with nearly six minutes gone by in the first half.
Louisville widened its lead to 19-9, but jumpers by Davis and Williams, sandwiched around a three by Tillman, gave Ohio a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to three at 19-16. Sosa ended the string of unanswered Bobcat points with a pair of free throws, but the Ohio run was far from over. After two successful free throw attempts by Williams, Tillman took over with a lay-up and a shot from downtown on back-to-back possession to give Ohio its first lead of the game at 23-21. Derrick Caracter answered with a dunk for the Cardinals to tie the game at 23 and end a 14-2 Bobcat run that lasted more than seven minutes. Each team scored four points before the first half buzzer sounded and the scoreboard read 27-27 at the half.
The Bobcats used turnovers to stay in the game in the first half as they forced 13 Louisville turnovers against six of their own. Ohio held a 13-5 advantage in points off turnovers at the break. The Bobcats were just 9-of-32 (28.1-percent) from the floor at the half, but limited the Cardinals to just 23 field goal attempts in the first half. Louisville finished the half 10-of-23 (43.5-percent). Tillman led all players with 11 points and six rebounds at halftime Troutman added six points and Williams and Davis each contributed five points in the first half. Sosa and Palacios co-led the Cardinals with six points apiece at the break.
The Cardinals started the second half the same way they started the first half, with a three-ball on the first possession. The shot was part of an 8-2 run by Louisville to open the second half. Walther ended the run with a fast-break tray to pull the Bobcats within three at 35-32, but Sosa and Jenkins responded with back-to-back threes to give the Cardinals a 41-32 lead heading into the first media timeout. After the break, Louisville picked right back up where it left off with a dunk by Williams and a lay-up by Caracter. The result was ten unanswered points and an 18-5 run spanning the first 6:30 of the second half to give the Cardinals a 45-32 lead, their largest of the game to that point.
Louisville built its lead to as much as 16 points at 51-35, but the Bobcats had some fight left in them. Sparked by a three from Troutman, Ohio went on a 16-2 run spanning the next six minutes to cut the Cardinal lead to 53-51 with less than seven minutes remaining in the game. Troutman had seven points and Walther added five during the run.
Will Scott ended the run with a three-point shot but Troutman and Williams followed with successful jumpers on the next two Ohio possessions to cut the Louisville lead to 56-55 with 5:30 minutes left to play. Scott had the answer again for the Cardinals with his third three of the night and the Cardinals re-built a five-point lead at 62-57 with under four minutes left in the contest.
The Bobcats cut the lead to three at 64-61 but Sosa had the hot hand and connected on another three-point shot, his fifth of the night. After a Davis jumper, Sosa drove into the lane and connected again for a 69-63 Louisville lead. The jumper by Sosa was his 10th straight point for the Cardinals. The Bobcats could not find the basket the next two trips down the floor and were forced the play the foul game with less than a minute left. The Cardinals hit just enough free throws down the stretch as the Bobcats made things close but lost by a final score of 74-71.
The Bobcats head right back to action Saturday for its second contest at the NABC Classic. Ohio will battle Bellarmine at 4:30 p.m. from Freedom Hall.
