Jan. 11, 2007
Box Score | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - Junior Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) scored 20 points and sophomore Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) added 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Bobcats cruised past Bowling Green 67-49 Thursday at the Convocation Center.
Ohio (11-4, 2-0) move past Bowling Green in the Mid-American Conference East Division standings. Both teams entered play Thursday with 10-4 overall records and 1-0 marks in conference play.
The Bobcats shot 20-of-53 (37.7-percent) from the floor but did plenty of damage from the free throw line as the team was 20-of-28 (71.4-percent) from the charity stripe. Both teams struggled from beyond the three-point arc as Ohio was 7-of-26 (26.9-percent) and Bowling Green was just 3-of-34 (12.5-percent) from long range. The Bobcats used a 21-12 turnover advantage to create 20 points off turnovers against Bowling Green's six. Ohio also doubled up the Falcons in steals by a total of 10-5.
Williams led the Bobcats with 20 points, his sixth-career 20-point performance. He finished just one rebound away from a double-double. Williams was 6-of-7 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. The junior Bobcat also recorded two steals and an assist in the Bobcat victory. Tillman finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds to record his team-best sixth double-double of the season. He was 6-of-8 from the charity stripe and added a block to his impressive night.
Senior Stephen King (Richfield, Minn.) gave Ohio some scoring from the bench as he chipped in 12 points, all from beyond the three-point arc. King was 4-of-10 from long range on the night and did not attempt a shot inside of three-point territory. Senior Whitney Davis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) added eight points in the win while senior Sonny Troutman (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished with five points, four assists, three steals, and two rebounds. Junior Antonio Chatman (Dorchester, Mass.) recorded a game-high five assists and also finished with three steals on the night.
Bowling Green was 17-of-52 (32.7-percent) from the floor as a team in the loss. The Falcons did hold a rebounding edge over the Bobcats 43-37 but were outscored in second chance points by Ohio 16-15. Nate Miller led Bowling Green with 17 points and was one of three Falcons to tie for a team-best five rebounds. Ohio's defense was able to quiet Bowling Green's leading scorer Martin Samarco as he was just 4-of-20 from the floor and 1-of-10 from three-point range for 12 points. He came into the game averaging 22.6 points per contest. Samarco did record five rebounds in the game but turned the ball over six times.
The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they scored nine of the game's first 10 points. Bowling Green's first point came on a free throw by Miller at the 17:03 mark and Miller also recorded the Falcons' first basket from the field at the 15:38 mark. Following Miller's bucket, the Bobcats went on a 9-0 run to take an 18-3 advantage with less than nine minutes gone by in the contest. Samarco did not get on the board until he made a free throw with just 7:53 remaining in the half. At that time, Ohio had already forced 10 Bowling Green turnovers. The Bobcats continued to widen the lead and a three-point shot from King with 26 seconds left gave Ohio its largest lead of the game at the point, a 32-13 advantage at the half.
The 13 points scored by Bowling Green was the fewest Ohio had allowed this season and was also a season-low for the Falcons. The Bobcats shot 11-of-24 in the half while the Falcons were just 4-of-23 from the floor. Williams led all scorers with 13 points at the break while Ryne Hamblet led Bowling Green with six.
The Falcons came out of the gate in the second half looking to make it a game as they scored eight of the half's first 11 points to draw the score to 35-21. With the Bobcats already leading by 15 a few minutes later, Ohio scored six unanswered to take its largest lead of the contest at 46-25. The Falcons tried to make things close with a 10-3 run later in the half but the Bobcats did not led their lead slip to less than 13 as they earned the 67-49 win.
Ohio will look to stay hot in conference action this Sunday when the Bobcats travel for a 2:00 p.m. match up with Kent State.
