Jan. 17, 2009
Final Stats
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Despite a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds from senior forward Jerome Tillman, the Ohio men's basketball team couldn't hold off Buffalo Saturday afternoon, as the Bulls rallied for a 70-66 victory at Alumni Arena.
Ohio (9-7, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) held a 37-28 advantage in rebounds, even with Buffalo (9-6, 2-1 MAC) averaging a 6.0 rebounding margin entering the game. The Bobcats shot 44.4 percent from the floor (24-of-54), compared to the Bulls' 41.1 percent (23-of-56), and connected on nine 3-pointers to Buffalo's seven. UB went 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) at the stripe to outscore Ohio by eight from the line, as the 'Cats converted 9-of-12 (75 percent) free throws.
Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) was 7-of-14 from the field and 6-of-8 on his free throws, to record his 21st-straight double-digit performance and his third 20-point or more effort in the last four games and seventh this season. The senior scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half, and dished out two assists to go along with his game-high eight boards. Tillman moved into 12th place on Ohio's career scoring list with 1,391 points, passing Sanjay Adell (1997-2000) with his performance.
"I felt like we did a pretty good job getting (Tillman) the ball," Ohio head coach John Groce said. "He had 14 field-goal attempts and eight free throws and I thought he was pretty active. He gave us a great effort. A couple of his rebounds in the second half were monster rebounds and he was really competing."
Freshman guard Steven Coleman (Melbourne, Fla.) added 16 points for eight-career double-digit showings on 6-of-11 shooting, including three triples, which tied his career high. He also snared four rebounds, two steals and had a block.
Sophomore guard Tommy Freeman (Muncie, Ind.) was Ohio's third scorer in double figures with 11 on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc and a pair of free throws. He also snagged two boards.
Senior forward Justin Orr (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in nine points, six rebounds (four offensive), two assists and a block, while senior guard Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) chipped in five points, tied a career high with five rebounds, dished out a game-high six of Ohio's 12 assists and recorded a steal.
Buffalo scored the opening six points of the game, before sophomore forward DeVaughn Washington (Virginia Beach, Va.) got the 'Cats on the board with a jumper at the 17:11 mark. The Bulls stretched the lead to 13-5, when Ohio scored 15 of the game's next 20 points, which included 3-pointers from Freeman, Allen and Tillman and four points from Coleman, to grab its first lead at 20-18.
After a Buffalo triple, the Bobcats reeled off seven-straight points, with four coming from Tillman, to grab a six-point edge. Back-to-back trifectas from Coleman extended the Ohio lead to a game-high 11 points at 37-26 with only 1:29 remaining in the period. The Bulls responded by scoring the final five points of the half to make it a 37-31 game heading into the break.
The Bobcats made a first-half season-high 15 field goals on 53.6 percent shooting, while hitting 7-of-13 shots (53.8 percent) from behind the arc, with the seven triples tying Ohio's single-half season high. The 'Cats limited Buffalo to just 37.9 percent from the field (11-of-29), but the Bulls made 6-of-10 from deep to stay close. Ohio held a 19-12 advantage on the boards in the opening 20 minutes, with Orr collecting a half-high four. Coleman paced Ohio with a half-high 10 points.
After Buffalo started the second stanza on a 10-2 run to regain the lead, the Green & White rattled off four straight, including a 3-pointer from Freeman, to put Ohio back on top by two with 12:57 to play. Knotted at 44, Tillman scored 10 of the Bobcats' next 12 points to help Ohio build a 58-49 lead with 5:01 remaining. The Bulls stormed back however, running off a 14-1 spurt to put UB on top by four. The 'Cats closed to within one on a Coleman triple with 37 ticks on the clock, but Buffalo hit 5-of-6 free throws in the closing seconds to secure the 70-66 win.
"We didn't play very smart in the second half," Groce said. "Our effort was good, but we just did not play very intelligently. We just didn't convert some of our shots in the second half that we were making in the first half."
With their two-game road swing complete, the Bobcats return to The Convocation Center Tuesday, Jan. 20, when they'll host MAC East foe Akron in the first of two-straight home games. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET, with pregame coverage scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on the Citizens Bank Ohio ISP Sports Network.
