Feb. 5, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
ATHENS, Ohio - Senior forward Jerome Tillman scored a game-high 24 points to lead a Bobcat offense that shot nearly 50 percent from the field on Thursday night as the Ohio University men's basketball team stormed to an 89-59 victory over Northern Illinois at the Convocation Center.
The Bobcats' 89 points were a season high, as were their 22 assists and 41 bench points en route to their largest victory since defeating Bowling Green by 37 on March 4, 2006. The victory improved Ohio's record to 22-2 in its last 24 games at The Convo, and 10-2 in its last dozen Mid-American Conference outings at home.
Ohio (11-10, 4-4 MAC) also made 35 of its 40 free throw attempts on the night, the most charity tosses by a MAC team this season.
"I thought we played as well as we have at both ends simultaneously this year, and we got good contributions from everyone who played," Ohio head coach John Groce said. "Tonight was a big step in the right direction for us. We displayed great unselfishness throughout the game, and our ability to share the basketball really stood out."
Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) finished with 24 points on the night, connecting on 7-of-10 shots from the field and 9-of-10 from the line. The effort was his ninth 20-point game of the season and 26th-consecutive game in double figures, and moved him within a point of tying former Bobcat great Tim Joyce for 10th on the program's career scoring list (1,468).
Thursday night's game did see Tillman reach a pair of career milestones, as his game-high seven rebounds moved him into ninth on the school's career chart, and his 10 free throw attempts vaulted him into sixth place on Ohio's ledger. He also added a steal, an assist and a block on the night, despite playing a season-low 23 minutes.
Integral parts of Ohio's 41-point bench outburst on Thursday, senior forward Justin Orr (Cincinnati, Ohio) knocked down a quartet of three-point field goals en route to a 16-point, four-rebound night, while junior center Kenneth van Kempen (Weert, The Netherlands) sank 5-of-6 shots from the floor to finish with a season-high 12 points, as well as four rebounds, two assists and a career high-tying two blocked shots.
Freshman guard Steven Coleman (Melbourne, Fla.) added nine points for the Bobcats, while sophomore guard Tommy Freeman (Muncie, Ind.) had eight and freshman guard Frankie Dobbs (Lakewood, Ohio) chipped in with seven on the night to match his personal best.
The Bobcats' trio of primary ballhandlers paved the way for a season-best 22 assists on 23 field goals on Thursday, as senior guard Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) led the way with seven helpers and no turnovers, while Coleman contributed six assists and Dobbs handed out four.
The performance marked the 23rd time that Allen, the league's leader in both assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio, has dished out at least five helpers in a game.
"I don't know if I've ever coached a game where there have been 23 field goals and 22 were assisted," Groce said. "We started pass faking, getting better ball movement and playing in gaps. That's the best we've played against zone all year."
Coleman also added three of the Bobcats' 10 steals on the night, as Ohio forced 18 turnovers and converted 25 points on those NIU miscues.
With the Bobcats trailing, 8-7, with just over 14 minutes remaining in the first half, Orr nailed a triple from the wing to spark an 11-2 Ohio run and force NIU into a 30-second timeout at the 9:24 mark of the period with the Green & White in front by an 18-10 count. Coleman kept the Bobcats rolling with a trifecta on their first possession after the stoppage, and Ohio's run grew to 22-2 on a Tillman layup before the Huskies again asked to stop play with 5:31 left on the first-half clock, and ultimately reached 25-2 before Northern Illinois could answer.
Tillman finished the first half with 13 points to lead all players and propel an Ohio offense that shot 54.2 percent from the floor, 45.5 percent from beyond the arc and 91.7 percent from the free throw line. Allen and Coleman combined for nine assists in the opening frame, as the Bobcats registered a helper on each of their 13 field goals, while Tillman's five rebounds led all players and spurred the Green & White to a 17-14 edge on the boards.
Tillman also managed 11 points in just seven minutes after the break to lead a 47-point Bobcat attack. Dobbs scored all seven of his points after halftime, while Orr added seven of his 16 and van Kempen netted six of his 12 points on the evening in the second half.
Ohio, which converted on 24-of-28 free throw attempts in the second period, led by as many as 37 points late in the final frame.
"One of the things we've talked a lot about recently is consistency, not only within a game, but over several games in a row," Groce said. "We want to be a team that's climbing rungs on the ladder. Hopefully this win is a sign of things to come."
During halftime of Thursday's game, Ohio Athletics also took the opportunity to honor 206 of its student-athletes - approximately half of its entire student-athlete body - who earned grade-point averages of 3.0 or better during the 2008 Fall Quarter.
The Bobcats will have just one day to rest before welcoming Eastern Michigan to The Convo for a 5 p.m. ET tip-off on Saturday, which is also Ohio's annual Sibs Weekend. The Green & White holds a 41-21 edge in the all-time series, and has won the last two meetings in Athens.
