Dec. 13, 2008
Final Stats
NEWARK, Del. - Sophomore forward DeVaughn Washington notched his first-career double-double and senior forward Justin Orr added 15 points on Saturday for the Ohio University men's basketball team, but the Bobcats fell short of Delaware, 75-66, at the Carpenter Center.
On the strength of Washington's career-high 13 rebounds, Ohio hauled in a season-high 40 boards against Delaware, out-doing the Blue Hens by five on the glass. The Green & White also collected 17 offensive rebounds on Saturday, eclipsing its previous season best by four.
"There are a lot of things you can point to from today's game that we didn't do well, but I don't think effort is one of them," Ohio head coach John Groce said. "We got off to a rough start in both halves, and we were hurt by lack of execution at the free throw line, but we played hard until the end, especially on the glass. We had guys fighting for rebounds and diving to the floor for the entire game, and effort like that is a benchmark of what we want our program to be."
Washington (Virginia Beach, Va.) shot 7-of-11 from the field, both personal bests, en route to a career-high 15 points, earning a share of the team scoring lead for the first time this season. He also did the bulk of his rebounding work on the offensive glass, collecting eight of his 13 boards on that end in a career-high 32 minutes of work.
"DeVaughn got some quality looks today and did a nice job of finishing," Groce said. "I thought he was a bright spot for us today on both ends of the floor, and he also did a lot of good things that won't show up in the box score."
Orr (Cincinnati, Ohio) matched Washington for the team lead with 15 points in a performance that saw him sink all four of his attempts from the free throw line. Senior forward Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) chipped in with 10 points to give Ohio three players in double figures, while also posting six rebounds and a pair of assists.
Senior guard Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) and freshman backcourt mate Steven Coleman (Melbourne, Fla.) shared the team lead with four assists apiece, while also adding eight and six points, respectively, to the scoring column. In addition to his five points on the afternoon, sophomore guard Tommy Freeman (Muncie, Ind.) secured a career-best six rebounds.
"We'll watch the film tonight and take a look at what we need to do to get better as a team," Groce said. "I would be very disappointed if this game didn't teach us a few things and show us the importance of constantly improving."
Ohio will have a quick turnaround before it returns to the court on Wednesday night to meet Marshall in its sixth-consecutive game away from home. Pregame coverage will begin on the Citizens Bank Ohio ISP Sports Network at 6:30 p.m. ET, with tip-off scheduled to take place 30 minutes later.
