Nov. 17, 2007
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
ATHENS, Ohio - The Bobcats rallied in the second half on Saturday night to put away hot-shooting Cornell 102-89 for their second-straight victory to open the 2007-08 campaign. Ohio has now won 17-straight non-conference home games dating back to 2003.
Ohio broke the 100 point barrier for the first time since Jan. 8, 2003 (Ohio 112, Akron 104 4OT) and for the first time in regulation since Dec. 31, 2002 (Ohio 104, St. Bonaventure 101).
The Big Red shot 61 percent from the field in the first half but Ohio forced Cornell into making only 37 percent of its shots in the second half and that was just what the `Cats needed to push ahead.
Ohio's inside tandem of Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) and Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) tallied 28 and 21 points, respectively, and Williams pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds for his first double-double this season. Williams shot 10-of-14 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. His 28 points were the second highest total of his career, behind the 29 points he tallied in the 2005 MAC Championship. Tillman made 10-of-17 shots and pulled down eight rebounds.
Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) paced the Bobcats' guards with 25 points while Justin Orr (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) also scored in double-digit points in the victory. Allen played 27 minutes at the point guard position in his Bobcat debut and came just one assist shy of a double-double.
Center Jason Hartford scored 18 points, including a team-high four three-pointers, to lead the Big Red while forward Ryan Wittman tallied 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 3-of-8 from behind the arc.
Ohio turned the ball over just eight times while the Big Red coughed up the basketball 17 times in the contest, with 10 coming on Ohio steals. Walther led the team in swipes with four. The Bobcats also out-rebounded the Big Red 39-33.
The Bobcats started solid from the floor as they made 60 percent of their shots in the first eight minutes of the game and held a 20-16 lead at the under-12 media timeout, and halfway through the period a Williams lay-up had Ohio leading 25-16.
Fortunes quickly turned in the Big Red's favor, however, as Cornell went on a 14-5 run in a four-minute span and took its first lead of the game at 33-32 on a Collin Robinson jumper with 5:43 remaining in the half.
The Big Red would keep the hot hand as they would make 13 of their last 17 field goal attempts in the period, and with 1:31 left in the half extended to a 44-37 lead.
The Bobcats would put together one last spurt before the break however, as they went on a quick 8-3 run and were able to go into the locker room down just three at 46-43.
Cornell shot 61 percent from the floor in the half compared to Ohio's 47-percent mark. Tillman led all scorers in the first 20 minutes with 13 points while Cornell was paced by Hartford's 10.
Out of the break the Big Red continued their scorching shooting as they knocked down three-pointers on each of their first three shot attempts and eventually built a 57-48 lead with 17:47 remaining.
Down by their largest deficit of the game, the Bobcats traded buckets with Cornell to stay within striking distance, then put together a powerful run of their own recapture control of the contest.
From 13:40 to 7:12, Ohio reeled off a 25-5 run - 14 of those tallies coming from Williams alone - and stormed out to its largest lead of the game at that point, 85-73.
The Bobcats and Big Red traded buckets for the remainder of the game with Ohio holding to its lead. As the time remaining slipped below three minutes, Cornell began to foul to stop the clock, but the Big Red could not cut the Ohio lead to single digits and the Bobcats closed out their second-straight win to open the 2007-08 season with a final score of 102-89.
The Bobcats will now have nine days to prepare for their next game on Nov. 26. The Bobcats will begin a seven-day road trip against Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Tip time versus the Patriot League preseason favorite Crusaders is set for 7 p.m.
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Jason Cunningham is the primary media contact for Ohio men's basketball. He can be reached via e-mail at cunninj3@ohio.edu.
