Dec. 22, 2008
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
ATHENS, Ohio - Senior forward Jerome Tillman netted a game-high 18 points and the Ohio University men's basketball forced 27 turnovers en route to a 58-53 victory over Holy Cross in a tightly-contested affair at the Convocation Center on Monday night.
The 27 turnovers that the Bobcats induced on Monday, which included a season-high 13 steals, were their most since forcing 28 against Shippensburg on Dec. 17, 2005. Sophomore forward DeVaughn Washington (Virginia Beach, Va.) and freshman guard Steven Coleman (Melbourne, Fla.) shared team-high honors with four thefts, a career high for the former, while senior guard Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) and sophomore guard Tommy Freeman (Muncie, Ind.) each had a pair.
"This wasn't our prettiest game, but the thing I liked about our ball club is that we kept defending," Ohio head coach John Groce said. "We were active defensively, and I'm happy with the fact that we forced them into 27 turnovers. On nights when you don't make shots, you have to win ugly, and I thought we were able to do that tonight."
Despite battling early foul trouble and playing just six minutes in the second half, Tillman managed a game-high 18 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor and a 9-of-11 effort from the stripe, moving into a tie with former teammate Sonny Troutman for 18th place on the program's career scoring with 1,272 points. In 25 minutes of work, he also collected five rebounds, blocked a pair of shots and recorded a steal.
"I challenged Jerome in the second half, and I thought he really stepped up," Groce said. "He was going to the glass hard, he was posting harder, he was getting better position down low and he was drawing fouls and getting to the foul line. I thought that was a big determining factor in the outcome of the game."
In addition to his four steals, Coleman poured in 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go along with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Washington gave Ohio a trio of players with double-digits in the points column with his 10 on the night, marking the third-straight game in which he has reached double figures. He also pulled down a team-high six boards, the third outing in a row that he has paced the Bobcats on the boards.
Tied 26-26 at the half, Ohio forced six Holy Cross turnovers in the first 3:20 of the half, prompting the Crusaders to burn a timeout with the Green & White on top by a count of 32-28. Holy Cross was forced to spend another timeout with 8:48 left in regulation, as the Bobcats were in the midst of a 7-0 run, four of which came from Coleman, that gave them a 43-37 advantage.
Coleman chased down a Holy Cross inbounds pass in the backcourt and turned the miscue into a layup to put Ohio in front by 11, 51-40, with 5:10 left in regulation, but the Crusaders would battle back to within two at 55-53 with just 55 seconds left on the clock. Ohio, however, regrouped to seal the game from the free throw line, as Coleman, Tillman and freshman guard Frankie Dobbs (Lakewood, Ohio) each sank 1-of-2 from the free throw line to secure the victory.
Senior forward Justin Orr (Cincinnati, Ohio) led all scorers in the first half with eight points, three of which came via the charity stripe, while Coleman chipped in with six points and three boards before the break. Washington, who scored the final two of his four first-half points on a dunk off of a Coleman feed with 1:48 on the clock, led the Bobcats with five rebounds in the opening period.
Ohio will be idle for just over a week before returning to The Convo on Dec. 30 for a matchup with St. Francis (N.Y.) College at 7 p.m. ET. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on the Citizens Bank Ohio ISP Sports Network.
