Feb. 12, 2011
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio dropped its final game against a MAC West opponent this evening in Kalamazoo, as Western Michigan edged the Bobcats 85-83. The Green & White trailed for the final 10 minutes of the game but fought valiantly and missed a try at the buzzer that would have won the contest.
D.J. Cooper led the Bobcats (12-13, 5-6) with 17 points and five assists, while DeVaughn Washington added 16 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and sixth of his career. Ivo Baltic chipped in with 14 points and eight rebounds, Tommy Freeman scored 11 and Ricardo Johnson finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
Despite giving up a season-high 12 three-pointers, Ohio out-rebounded one of the better teams in the conference. The Bobcats finished with 17 offensive rebounds, their most in a MAC game this season (13, NIU). Ohio shot 47 percent from the floor and has only shot worse than 43 percent in one MAC game this season. The Bobcats also held advantages in points in the paint, points off turnovers and second chance points.
Flenard Whitfield finished with a career-high 27 points and recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, Demetrius Ward added 22 points, on the strength of six three-pointers, and seven assists for the Broncos (13-10, 6-4). Juwan Howard Jr. recorded 12 points and six blocks and Mike Douglas also finished in double-figures with 10 points.
After Cooper's three-pointer made it 85-83 with six seconds remaining, Douglas missed two free throws with four seconds to play, giving Ohio a chance, but Freeman's three-point try from the near corner hit front iron as the buzzer sounded.
Ohio scored the first four points of the game before falling behind 13-8 with 13:43 to go in the first half. The 'Cats erased the five-point deficit and took the lead on Washington's 10th point of the first half and added to it on a jumper from Johnson. Western Michigan responded with consecutive three-balls to take the lead, which it would not relinquish, the rest of the half.
The teams were identical from the field during the first 20 minutes, each going 14-for-34. The difference was the three-point shooting of WMU, who came into the game averaging 5.4 makes from beyond the arc per game. The Broncos connected on 9-of-14 tries (64 percent) with Ward leading the way (12 points, five assists). Washington was the top man for the Green & White, dropping 10 points and snatching eight boards.
In the second half, WMU took its largest lead and was still ahead 44-38 before a 9-2 Ohio run gave it the lead, 47-46, with 16:01 in the second half. A free throw by Reggie Keely gave the 'Cats a one-point lead as the sophomore contributed four points, Baltic added a jumper and Freeman connected on a three-pointer during the run.
After WMU briefly went ahead again, T.J. Hall answered with a lay-up to pull things even, On two separate occasions after Bronco baskets, Baltic stepped to the charity stripe and converted free throws to hand Ohio leads. There were 11 lead changes and nine ties, and neither team led by more than seven. A Whitfield layup with 10:27 remaining put Western Michigan up 58-57, and the Broncos led the rest of the way.
However, Ohio had the margin down to one on three occasions during the final three minutes. Down by five, Keely hit a bank shot and Johnson followed with a jumper to cut the lead to 74-73. However, Douglas scored a layup with 2:43 to go and pushed the margin back to three.
Johnson again converted a jumper to make the score 76-75 with 2:24 remaining and Ohio had a chance to take a lead but turned it over. Free throws by Cooper with 1:24 to play pulled Ohio within 1, but after a CMU turnover, Baltic was blocked from behind by Howard, who then hit a highly-contested three-pointer with the shot clock winding down and 47 seconds on the game clock.
The Bobcats remain on the road for the second of three-straight games outside of Athens. Ohio plays at Buffalo on Tuesday evening with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on SportsTime Ohio.
