March 4, 2007
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Senior Sonny Troutman broke his own school record for steals in a single season but the Bobcats suffered an 84-65 loss to Buffalo Sunday in the regular season finale at Alumni Arena.
"I think we were forcing things," Head Coach Tim O'Shea said. "I thought (Buffalo) played with great energy and they really shot the ball well against us tonight. I'm disappointed with our rebounding. We knew going in that it was going to be key. I saw guys pressing a little bit when shots weren't dropping early. To their credit, Buffalo never gave us that opening to get back in the game and get a chance to win."
Ohio (18-12, 9-7) would have claimed the No. 4 seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament and a first round bye with a win over the Bulls. The Bobcats will instead settle for the fifth seed and a Wednesday match up with Bowling Green.
"It was a golden opportunity for us," O'Shea said. "Hats off to Buffalo. They played terrific today."
The Bobcats shot 23-of-53 (43-percent) for the contest while the Bulls were 32-of-61 (53-percent) in the game. Buffalo also held a commanding 43-20 advantage on the glass and recorded 28 assists to Ohio's seven.
Troutman (Indianapolis, Ind.) recorded five steals in the loss and in the process broke his own school record of 72 steals in a single season. He currently has 75 in his senior campaign. He also passed Ball State's Duane Clemens for fourth place on the MAC career steals list. Troutman finished the contest with 18 points and moved ahead of Don Hilt for 17th place on Ohio's career scoring list.
Senior Whitney Davis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) led all Bobcats with 19 points and added four steals. Junior Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) and sophomore Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) each finished with 11 points in the loss. Williams led the Bobcats with seven rebounds and passed current Bobcat assistant coach John Rhodes for 10th place on the Ohio all-time rebounding ledger.
Andy Robinson paced the Bulls with a career-high 25 points. Byron Mulkey dished out a career-high 14 assists in the Buffalo win, the most assists by any player in the MAC this season. Yassin Idbihi recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls.
Buffalo came out of the gates on fire and led nearly the entire contest. The Bobcats scored first on a basket by Davis but the Bulls scored the game's next eight points and never looked back. Buffalo hit six of its first seven field goal attempts while the Bobcats netted just one of their first five.
Buffalo went on its second 8-0 run of the half from the 14:14 mark to the 11:30 mark to take its largest lead of the game at that point, 21-8. Ohio pulled within nine points at 24-15, but the Bulls used a 5-0 run to take a 29-15 lead. Robinson led the way for Buffalo as he netted 11 points in a row for the Bulls.
Davis attempted to get the Bobcats back in the game before the half as he outscored Buffalo 7-2 from the 2:59 mark until 1:05 was left to bring Ohio within 12. The Bulls scored the final four points of the half, however, to take a 16-point lead into the half at 43-27.
Ohio shot just 10-of-26 from the half and committed 11 turnovers, the most in the first half this season by the Bobcats. The Bulls shot 18-of-34 in the first half, including 6-of-12 from downtown.
The Bobcats looked to get back into the game in the second half as they made six of their first eight shot attempts after halftime. A basket by Troutman with 16:22 on the clock brought Ohio to within nine points, but a 16-0 Buffalo run gave the Bulls a 67-42 lead. Ohio used a 14-2 run later in the half but it was not enough in the 84-65 loss.
The Bobcats look to turn things around as they head into postseason play and the MAC Tournament this Wednesday. Ohio will take on Bowling Green for a 3:00 p.m. tip at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Ohio has already defeated the Falcons twice this season.
"(Bowling Green is) going to be tough," O'Shea said. "They're coming off a big win against Miami today. You never look forward to trying to beat a team three times in one year. It's going to be a tough game, there's no doubt about that."
