March 5, 2009
Final Stats
AKRON, Ohio - Senior forward Jerome Tillman became the ninth player in school history to amass 1,600 points, but the Ohio University men's basketball team fell to the Akron Zips, 60-51, Thursday night at Rhodes Arena. With the loss, the Bobcats (14-15, 7-8 Mid-American Conference) split the season series with the Zips after defeating Akron (19-11, 10-5), 70-65, on Jan. 20 in overtime in Athens.
"We weren't able to run our offense like we did in game one (with Akron)," Ohio head coach John Groce said. "They imposed their will and forced us into 24 turnovers. I don't think our guys backed down, but their physicality took a toll on us. They were able to disrupt us and take us out of position within our offense."
Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) scored a game-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and now has 1,605 career points. He also extended his double-figure scoring streak to 34-straight games, dating back to last year, and has 90 career double-digit games at Ohio. Tillman attempted five free throws in the contest, which moved him into a tie with Paul Graham for eighth place on Ohio's single-season free throw attempts ledger with 217. The forward corralled a game-high eight rebounds, as well.
Sophomore forward DeVaughn Washington (Virginia Beach, Va.) chipped in nine points and a pair of steals, while freshman guard Steven Coleman (Melbourne, Fla.) contributed eight points, four assists and a theft, marking the eighth time in his last nine games he's stolen the ball. Senior forward Justin Orr (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied six points, four rebounds and a pair of steals for the Bobcats, as well.
The Green & White shot 46.5 percent for the game and made 11-of-14 free throws, but didn't make a single 3-pointer for the first time all season. The Zips were limited to just 37.3 percent shooting, including 6-of-24 from deep, but made 16 freebies. Nate Linhart and Brett McKnight paced Akron with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Ohio fell behind early 10-2, but Washington's dunk punctuated a 10-0 run and gave the 'Cats their first lead of the game, 12-10, at the 10:15 mark. The two squads played even for the remainder of the half, with three ties and neither team leading by more than two. Linhart hit two free throws with 23 ticks left in the half to put the Zips up 23-21 at recess.
The Bobcats shot 52.3 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but on just 17 shots, while Akron took 30 shots, but made just 26.8 percent of them, including three triples. The Zips used 10 offensive rebounds to gain the advantage in field goals. Tillman led Ohio with seven points at the break, while Coleman added six.
Akron used a 52.4 percent shooting clip in the second half, as well as 12-of-14 shooting from the stripe, to control the second stanza. Orr hit a jumper with 17:14 remaining to put the score at 30-28 in favor of the Zips, but Ohio was unable to overcome an off-shooting night from behind the arc. The lead blossomed to 10 with 6:42 to play on a Linhart layup, before Ohio rattled off four-straight points to get within six, but the 'Cats would get no closer, falling 60-51 on Akron's Senior Day.
"We need everybody to play better," Groce said. "Our guys take a lot of pride in playing, but it's difficult to win when you turn it over as much as we did. We just weren't able to get enough shot attempts."
The Bobcats close out the regular season Sunday, March 8, as they'll take on the Bowling Green Falcons in hopes of splitting the season series, after falling to the Falcons at home, 52-51, Jan. 24. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET, with pregame coverage set to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET on the Citizens Bank Ohio ISP Sports Network.
