March 10, 2009
Final Stats
CLEVELAND, Ohio-The ninth-seeded Ohio men’s basketball squad showcased a balanced offensive attack Tuesday in defeating eighth-seeded Western Michigan 62-55 in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament in Quicken Loans Arena.
Ohio improved to 15-16 overall with the win, while WMU finished its 2008-09 season at 10-21 overall. The Bobcats will face top-seeded Bowling Green Thursday at 7 p.m. on FSN Ohio (18-12) in the MAC Quarterfinals
Four Bobcat players finished in double figures, including senior forward Jerome Tillman’s (Beavercreek, Ohio) game-high 14, and 12 points each from senior point guard Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.), sophomore forward DeVaughn Washington (Virginia Beach, Va.) and freshman guard Steven Coleman (Melbourne, Fla.). Senior forward Justin Orr (Cincinnati, Ohio) tied a career-high with a game-high eight rebounds, while junior center Kenneth van Kempen (Weert, Netherlands) was one short of a career mark with six caroms. Coleman also has four assists, while Washington posted three steals.
WMU’s David Kool finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals, but was limited to just a 4-15 shooting by the stingy Bobcat defense. Michael Redell also posted five of the Broncos’ 14 assists.
The telling stat of the contest came at the line as Ohio connected on 21 of its 26 free throw attempts (80.8 percent), while Western made just eight of 15 (53.3 percent). The Bobcats also held a 24-16 edge in bench points.
After falling behind 13-7 on a 3-pointer by WMU’s Demetrius Ward at the 12:04 mark of the first half, the Bobcats clawed back into the contest with a 7-0 run over the next three minutes, 53 seconds to take a one-point lead. Ohio got there courtesy of a dunk by Washington, a layup by Coleman and a 3-pointer from Tillman.
After the Broncos knotted the score at 16 on a free throw by Donald Lawson, Ohio pushed the advantage back out to five (21-16) on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Tommy Freeman (Muncie, Ind.) and another layup by Coleman. Coleman added the Bobcats’ final two points of the half on a pair of free throws just before Orr’s (Cincinnati, Ohio) 70-plus foot heave connected, but came a second too late.
Coleman led the Bobcats with eight first-half points after making three of his first five field goal attempts, while Orr and van Kempen (Weert, Netherlands) had five rebounds apiece. Seven different Bobcats dented the scoreboard in the game’s first stanza. Ohio made all five of its first-half free throws and made just six turnovers.
The Broncos were powered by four points and three steals from Kool in the first half, who was held to just a 2-9 shooting performance by the stingy Bobcat defense. Shawntes Gary also posted four rebounds and three assists. WMU connected on 25.9 percent (7-27) from the floor, 27.3 percent (3-11) from long range and 44.4 percent (4-9) from the line.
Ohio came out hot in the second half and increased its margin to a game-high 10 points (31-21) on a Tillman layup just 90 seconds into the stanza. The Bobcats kept Western at bay for rest of the half until Flenard Whitehead hit a jumper at the 2:29 mark to give the Broncos a one-point lead at 55-54. However, the Bobcats iced the game with an 8-0 to finish the contest on a layup by Allen, three free throws from Tillman and three others by Washington and Coleman.
Notes: The Bobcats are now sixth in Ohio single-season 3-pointers with 202 on the season…Tillman is now eighth in single-season Ohio free throws made with 168. He needs one more to tie Geno Ford for fifth (430) on Ohio’s all-time list. He is also just five points away from tying Walter Luckett (1,625-1972-75) for eighth on Ohio’s all-time scoring list and needs 16 points to tie Ford (567) for 10th on Ohio’s single-season scoring list…Michael Allen is five assists away from tying Shaun Stonerook (140) for 10th in Ohio single-season assists…Ohio is now 5-1 against Western Michigan in MAC Tourney play and took the lead in the all-time series 60-59.
