March 1, 2007
Box Score | Quotes
ATHENS, Ohio - Senior Whitney Davis led all scorers with 15 points and the Bobcats held Miami without a field goal for the final 15:58 of play as Ohio earned a 52-45 win over the RedHawks Thursday on Senior Night at the Convocation Center.
"I just really like the feeling I had out there tonight with the cohesiveness and the fact that I was able to distribute minutes a little more over the rotations," Head Coach Tim O'Shea said. "At the end of the game we had good energy and executed, as opposed to maybe being fatigued.
Ohio (18-11, 9-6) did not allow a single Miami (15-13, 10-5) field goal after a Nathan Peavy jumper gave the RedHawks a 36-26 lead with 15:58 left to play in the game. The Bobcats finished the contest on a 26-9 run after Peavy's basket and limited Miami to just nine points, all on free throws, for the remainder of the contest.
The 45 points allowed was the fewest by the Bobcats this season and the second time this year the Bobcats held an opponent under 50 points. Ohio held Bowling Green to 49 points on Jan. 11. Ohio's 52 points was the lowest in a winning effort since Nov. 16, 2003, when the Bobcats defeated Coppin State 51-47.
"I thought we sustained our defense for 40 minutes, and I don't know if we've done that all year," O'Shea said. "I think we had a 40-minute defensive effort tonight. We never stopped rebounding and again, maybe it was the minutes, playing the guys a few less minutes."
The Bobcats finished the contest 20-of-47 (43-percent) from the floor, including 11-of-23 in the second half. Ohio held the RedHawks to just 15-of-40 (38-percent) for the contest and only 3-of-17 in the final period. The Bobcats used a 31-26 rebounding advantage and a 15-10 edge in the turnover battle en route to the victory. Ohio dominated in the paint, outscoring Miami 32-12 in that category, and also scored eight points on the fast break against Miami's zero.
Davis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) led the way in his final home game as a Bobcat with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He added four rebounds, three steals and an assist in the win. Sophomore Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Bobcats and was 4-of-5 from the floor to go along with two steals.
Junior Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) and freshman Kenneth van Kempen (Weert, the Netherlands) each scored seven points in the Ohio victory.
"I thought Van Kempen gave us great minutes tonight," O'Shea said. "When you think of the fact that he scored seven points in a 52-point game, that's a huge contribution. That is like 15-percent of your offense coming from a freshman that's getting better and better."
Senior Sonny Troutman (Indianapolis, Ind.) and junior Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) each finished with four points while senior Stephen King (Richfield, Minn.) added three points in his first career start. Senior Matt Annen (Elk River, Minn.) made his first start since his freshman season and scored two points, his first of the season.
Nathan Peavy led the RedHawks with 13 points while Tim Pollitz scored 11 points and tallied a game-high 10 rebounds.
After a Peavy three opened the scoring, Annen got the Bobcats on the board with an offensive rebound and a layup. Peavy's opening three came with 19:01 on the clock and the RedHawks did not score again until 7:04 had gone by in the half. Miami missed seven shots during that time, but the Bobcats tallied only five points of their own. A three by Doug Penno broke the Miami scoreless streak and gave the RedHawks a 6-5 lead.
After Troutman tied the game at nine with a pair of free throws, Miami scored the next five points for a 14-9 lead. The RedHawks built the lead to 29-23 by the end of the half for a six-point edge at the break.
No player scored more than eight points in the first half, as Pollitz led all scorers with eight and Peavy tallied seven. Tillman, Davis and van Kempen each recorded five points for Ohio in the opening 20 minutes. The RedHawks were 12-of-23 in the first half while the Bobcats finished 9-of-24 from the floor.
Like he did in the opening half, Peavy started the scoring with a three for the first points of the second half. The RedHawks extended the lead to 10 points on a Peavy jumper to make the score 36-26 with 15:58 left in the game, but it was the last time a Miami field goal attempt found the bottom of the net. The Bobcats capitalized and used a 15-3 run to take a 41-39 lead, their first since 12:21 remained in the first half.
Ohio did not relinquish the advantage the rest of the way, and back-to-back layups by Davis gave Ohio its largest lead of the game to that point at 49-42 en route to the final margin of 52-45.
The Bobcats finish up regular season action this Sunday when Ohio travels to Buffalo. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. as the Bobcats prepare for the Mid-American Conference Tournament beginning March 7.
