Jan. 18, 2007
Box Score | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - All five Bobcats starters scored in double figures and Ohio ended the game on a 15-3 run as the Bobcats earned a 67-51 defeat of Buffalo Thursday at the Convocation Center.
"Once we settled down in the second half," Head Coach Tim O'Shea said, "I thought we really got a lot better in terms of running our stuff against a team that played a pressure defense."
Ohio (12-5, 3-1) led by as little as four points with less than five minutes left in the contest but used the strong run to put the game out of reach. Ohio dominated the paint all evening long as they finished with a 40-14 advantage in points in the paint. The Bobcats also forced 22 turnovers against 14 of their own, resulting in a 23-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
"That was a hard-earned victory tonight," O'Shea said. "Buffalo is a tough team. To win by 16 points after that first half, I'm very happy about that."
The Bobcats finished the game 23-of-50 (46-percent) from the floor while the Bulls (9-8, 1-3) were just 19-of-56 (34-percent). The biggest difference came from the free throw line, as Ohio was 18-of-24 while Buffalo made just five free throws and attempted only six. The Bulls kept the contest close most of the game with the help of the long distance shot, as they connected on 8-of-23 from behind the three-point arc. The Bobcats were 3-of-12 from downtown.
All five of Ohio's starters reached double figures in the scoring column, led by sophomore Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) and senior Whitney Davis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) with 15 points each. Both were efficient from the floor as Davis finished 7-of-9 and Tillman went 6-of-9 on the night. Tillman also posted six rebounds and two steals and Davis finished with two steals and two assists.
Junior Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Williams went 7-of-8 from the free throw line and also recorded two blocks and two steals. Junior Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored 14 in the win and was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. He dished out three assists and tallied three steals for the Bobcats.
Senior Sonny Troutman (Indianapolis, Ind.) joined the rest of the Ohio starters in double figures with 10 points on the evening. The performance gave him 1,106 points in his Bobcat career and moved him past Frank Baumholtz for 21st place on Ohio's all-time scoring list. Troutman also dished out a game-high seven assists in the win and grabbed three rebounds.
"(Troutman) settled down and became a little more of a playmaker," O'Shea said. "He ended up with seven assists. I don't think he had any assists in the first half. He started to penetrate and pass, which is a difference from trying to penetrate and score."
Yassin Idbihi led Buffalo with 11 points and also finished with six rebounds in the loss. Andy Robinson was the only other Bull in double figures with 10 points. Greg Gamble led the team with eight rebounds and also dished out a team-high three assists.
The game started with both teams cold from the floor as Ohio hit just two of its first 11 attempts from the floor while Buffalo started 2-of-10. With just more than eight minutes gone by in the contest, each team had committed five turnovers and Buffalo held an 8-5 lead. The Bobcats were unable to score from the 17:15 mark until 10:12 remained in the first half but Buffalo was unable to distance themselves as they went from the 12:45 mark until the 8:20 mark without a point.
After the scoreless stretch, the Bulls were able to build a nine-point lead at 22-13 with 3:18 left in the first half. The Bobcats finished the half on a strong note, however, with an 11-2 run to end the half. A lay-up by Davis cut the Bobcat deficit to two points and Walther intercepted the ensuing inbound pass and laid it home for a 24-24 game at the intermission.
Davis and Tillman led Ohio at the break with eight points while Eric Moore paced Buffalo with eight. The two teams combined for 19 turnovers in the half, due in part to five offensive fouls between the two teams.
The Bobcats were the first on the board in the second half when Davis connected on a jumper for Ohio's first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Buffalo answered with a shot from long range and the contest was on. Robinson scored the Bulls' first eight points of the half, but Ohio eventually grabbed a slight lead. The Bobcats went on an 8-2 run, capped by a Troutman fast break slam, to match its largest lead of the game to that point at 36-32.
The Bobcats continued to widen the lead and a three by Walther gave Ohio a 47-40 advantage. Another fast break dunk, this time by Davis, gave the Bobcats their first double-digit lead of the contest at 62-51 with just 1:42 remaining. The contest was all Ohio from the 4:12 mark until the final buzzer, as the Bobcats used a 15-3 run to close the game and earn the 67-51 victory.
The Ohio win moved the Bobcats to 18-3 all-time against the Bulls, including a perfect 8-0 record at the Convocation Center. The Bobcats have now won 12 straight games at home and have started the season 12-5 for the second consecutive season.
Ohio will look for a conference road victory this Sunday when the team travels to Oxford, Ohio to take on Miami. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m.
