Feb. 17, 2009
Final Stats
KENT, Ohio - Senior forward Jerome Tillman registered 18 points and 11 rebounds, but the Ohio University men's basketball team was unable to take advantage of a halftime lead and fell to host Kent State, 64-51, Tuesday night at the M.A.C. Center. The Bobcats fall to 13-12 overall and 6-6 in the Mid-American Conference, while the Golden Flashes upped their mark to 15-11 and 8-4.
Tillman's (Beavercreek, Ohio) league-leading seventh double-double of the season was the 25th of his career and extended his double-figure scoring streak to 30-straight games. His game-high 11 rebounds also gave him 811 for his career and moved him into eighth on Ohio's all-time list, passing Bobcat Hall-of-Famer Craig Love. The senior was 6-of-11 from both the field and the charity stripe, with the six freebies giving him 147 free throws this season, which bumps Tillman into ninth on Ohio's single-season free-throws made ledger. He also had a pair of steals on the evening.
Freshman Steven Coleman (Melbourne, Fla.) chipped in 12 points on a 5-of-6 shooting performance, including 2-of-3 from distance, while senior guard Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) was 3-of-5 and had four free throws for 10 points. He also dished out a game-high tying seven assists and had three steals. Sophomore forward DeVaughn Washington (Virginia Beach, Va.) added six rebounds and a tied a career high with two rejections for the 'Cats, as well.
Ohio jumped out to a 12-5 lead early with points coming from five different 'Cats. The Green & White stretched the lead to 10 at 17-7 on a Tillman free throw at the 10:19 mark. Kent State used a 10-0 spurt to draw even and took their first lead at 20-18 on a Tyree Evans 3-pointer. Down four, the Bobcats answered with a 9-0 run capped by back-to-back layups from Tillman to grab a 27-22 advantage that turned into a 29-25 halftime edge.
Ohio hit 44.4 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, while limiting Kent State to a 37.0 percent clip, including just 3-of-13 from distance. The Bobcats knocked down 11-of-14 free throws, compared to just two free throws for the Flashes, and held a slight 17-14 rebounding advantage. Allen had seven points and four assists, while Tillman contributed six points and eight rebounds for Ohio in the half. Jordan Mincy paced Kent State with 12 points in the first frame and finished with a game-high 27.
Coleman scored the Bobcats' first four points of the second stanza and a Tillman toss from the stripe stretched Ohio's lead to eight at 34-26 with 16:18 remaining. A 16-0 Flash spurt turned the tide however, and put Kent State up for good 42-34. Tillman used an old-fashioned 3-point play to halt the run and cut the deficit to five with under nine minutes on the clock, but the 'Cats were unable to close the gap anymore, as the Flashes hit half their shots over the final 20 minutes, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc, to claim the 64-51 decision.
Kent State shot 42.9 percent for the game, while Ohio hit 42.1 percent of its shots, but KSU had eight triples to the Bobcats' three.
The Bobcats will step out of MAC play for their next game, as they'll travel to Richmond, Ky. Saturday, Feb. 21 for their ESPNU BracketBusters tilt with Eastern Kentucky of the Ohio Valley Conference. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at McBrayer Arena in EKU's Alumni Coliseum. Ohio is 3-2 in its previous five BracketBusters games.
