Jan. 31, 2007
Box Score | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - The Bobcats shot 60-percent from the floor and all five Ohio starters reached double digits in scoring as the Bobcats handed Toledo its first Mid-American Conference loss of the season, 91-80 Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
Ohio (14-7, 5-3) extended its home win streak to 14 consecutive games and has reeled off 13 straight wins against MAC West opponents. The Rockets (11-9, 7-1) had started the season off with seven straight conference wins until the Ohio victory. The Bobcats reached 90 points as a team for the first times since Dec. 27 against Rhode Island and for the first time in a MAC match up since March 2, 2005. It was the fourth time overall this season.
"Tonight it seemed like our confidence was back and the shots were falling," Ohio Head Coach Tim O'Shea said. "It made all the difference in the world."
The Bobcats used hot shooting from all areas in the win as they finished 31-of-52 (60-percent) from the floor and 10-of-20 from three-point range. Ohio went 19-of-25 from the free throw line in the victory and held a slight 31-27 rebounding advantage. Toledo finished the contest 31-of-62 (50-percent) form the floor and 12-of-30 from downtown but went just 6-of-10 at the charity stripe. Both teams were very close in points in the paint (34-32 Ohio), points off turnovers (17-13 Toledo) and second chance points (12-11 Toledo). The Rockets had a 10-2 advantage in fast break points despite the loss.
Senior Sonny Troutman (Indianapolis, Ind.) led all players in scoring with 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also posted a game-best five assists to go along with two steals and two rebounds. He was 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the win. In the contest, Troutman passed John Canine to move into 20th place on Ohio's all-time scoring ledger. His two steals gave him 227 for his career, good to pass Bowling Green's Anthony Stacey for seventh on the MAC career steals list.
"When he [Troutman] plays well rarely do we lose, and tonight he played as well as he has ever played," O'Shea said.
Two Bobcats posted double-doubles in sophomore Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) and junior Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) Tillman finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds and was 9-of-10 from the field in the game. The 23 points ties a career high. He shot 3-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc in recording his 10th double-double of the year and eighth consecutive game with at least 10 points. Williams posted 11 points and 11 rebounds on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor. He also dished out three assists in recording a double-double for the 25th time in his Bobcat career.
Junior Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored 18 points in the victory and was 4-of-9 from three-point range. He added three assists, three rebounds and a steal to his night. Senior Whitney Davis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) was the fifth Bobcat starter to reach double-figures and finished with an even 10 points. He also dished out four assists and grabbed two rebounds.
Keonta Howell led four Rockets in double figure scoring with 21 points. He tallied five rebounds and three assists in the loss. Kashif Payne totaled 16 points and a team-best four assists while Florentino Valencia and Justin Ingram each posted 15 points. Valencia led the Rockets with six rebounds.
The Bobcats got off to a fast start when Tillman hit back-to-back threes to open the game and Williams sank a pair of free throws for an 8-0 Ohio run to open the game. Tillman scored eight of Ohio's first 10 points to start the contest. The Rockets cut the Ohio lead to three points at 12-9 when Valencia scored six unanswered from the 16:48 mark to the 13:56 mark.
Ohio answered with an 8-3 run, capped off by a Stephen King (Richfield, Minn.) three-pointer for a 20-12 lead with 11:58 left in the first half. The Rockets had an answer, using a 10-3 run to cut the Ohio lead to 23-22 with 6:36 remaining in the half. The one-point margin marked the closest the game had been since a scoreless tie. The Rockets went on to take their first lead of the contest when Howell scored five straight points for a 31-29 lead with 3:21 left in the half. Toledo led by one point late in the half until Walther sank a three to give the Bobcats a two-point edge. Ingram had the final word in the first half, however, and nailed a three with three seconds left for a 37-36 Toledo advantage at the break.
Howell led all scorers at the half with 15 points while Tillman paced the Bobcats with 12. Ohio led by as much as eight points in the half on two separate occasions while Toledo's largest lead of the half was two points. The Bobcats shot 60-percent in the half and Toledo came in at 52-percent.
"The biggest difference from recent games is that we shot the ball so well. It was great to see [Jerome] Tillman hit those first couple of threes," O'Shea said. "It gave the whole team confidence as far as scoring the ball."
The second half started out with six ties and three lead changes as the teams went back and forth at a quick pace. The Rockets held a 48-47 lead with 15:47 left to play in the game, but the Bobcats used a 15-5 run spanning 4:33 on the game clock to take a 62-53 lead with 10:28 remaining. The lead was the largest by any team at that point and would be the last advantage Ohio would need.
The Bobcats extended the lead to double-digits for the first time in the game at the 8:04 mark and went up by as many as 14 points. Toledo chiseled the lead down to nine with 2:25 left to play but Ohio scored the next four points to put the game away and earn the 91-80 win.
Ohio heads back on the road to battle Central Michigan this Saturday. Tip off is slated for 7:00 p.m. from Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
