Jan. 16, 2010
Final Stats
OXFORD, Ohio â€" The Ohio men’s basketball team fell to 9-8 overall, 0-3 in the Mid American Conference Saturday with a 79-67 loss on the road at the hands of the Miami RedHawks. The RedHawks improved to 5-11 and 2-1 in the league.
The Bobcats held the lead at halftime, but Miami outscored Ohio 50-30 in the second stanza. Miami out-rebounded Ohio 26-11 in the second, earning a 22-6 advantage in points in the paint.
Despite the combined final totals, it was a slow start for both teams, as Ohio and Miami combined for just 12 points in the first five and a half minutes.
The Bobcats took their first lead of the afternoon on a 3-pointer from freshman D.J. Cooper (Chicago, Ill.) which gave Ohio an 11-9 advantage at the 13:10.
The first half was a back-and-forth contest for the long-time rivals, until the final five minutes of the period, when back-to-back 3-point field goals from Cooper and junior Armon Bassett (Terre Haute, Ind.) gave the Bobcats a six-point lead.
Ohio’s maintained the advantage before the break, with a lay-up from freshman Jay Kinney (Champaign, Ill.), pushing the halftime lead to 37-29.
Bassett and Cooper combined for 23 of Ohio’s 37 first-half points.
A 17-0 run by the RedHawks over the first seven minutes, 34 seconds, however, wiped out the Bobcats’ lead and gave the hosts an advantage it would not relinquish.
Miami’s continued attack in the paint pushed the lead to 16 points before the Bobcats could find rhythm in their offensive sets.
Ohio slowly whittled the lead in the final eight minutes of the game, chipping away with 3-point shots from Cooper, Bassett, Kinney and junior Tommy Freeman (Muncie, Ind.)
Another pair of back-to-back threes, this time with both coming from Cooper, put the Bobcats within four points in the final two minutes.
Miami was able to convert on all 10 free throw attempts as the clock ran down to earn the final 12-point margin.
Cooper led all scorers with 22 points, adding three steals and four rebounds. His six 3-pointers were a career-high. Bassett added 19 points for the Bobcats, leading the team with five rebounds. Kinney finished with 11 points.
The Bobcats forced Miami into 19 turnovers, while committing just 13 themselves, but also gave up a 43-22 edge on the glass.
Sophomore forward Julian Mavunga led Miami with 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half. Miami junior Antonio Ballard finished with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Ohio will continue MAC play with a road trip to Bowling Green (7 p.m.) on Wednesday.
