March 4, 2011
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - Ohio dropped its first contest in almost a month this evening, losing at Miami 66-56. Despite putting four players in double figures, the Bobcats (17-14, 9-7 MAC) shot under 40 percent and were 4-of-18 on three-pointers.
Sophomore Ivo Baltic led the Green & White, finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds. Senior Tommy Freeman finished with 13 points, going 2-of-9 from the field and 7-of-9 at the line. Classmate DeVaughn Washington added 12 points and nine rebounds.
Guard D.J. Cooper had 14 points and five rebounds but also turned the ball over five times and fouled out. He did however pass the 1,000-point plateau for his career, becoming the 32nd Bobcat to do so and the second one this season, joining Freeman. If he can stay on this pace, the sophomore has a very good chance at becoming only the fifth player in Bobcat history to reach 2,000 points (Dave Jamerson, Paul Graham, Gary Trent and Brandon Hunter).
Julian Mavunga led the way for the RedHawks with 23 points and 13 rebounds, connecting on 15-of-17 free throws and Nick Winbush scored all 14 of his points in the first half and finished with a double-double after snaring 10 rebounds.
Quentin Rollins came off the bench to contribute a career-high 15 points and five assists for the RedHawks (16-15, 11-5), who clinched the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament.
The RedHawks shot 24 of 27 from the free-throw line (88.9 percent) after the break to seal the win. Ohio committed 26 fouls and Miami made a season-high 30-of-33 free-throw attempts (90.9 percent).
Ohio held Miami to two field goals, both by Allen Roberts over the final 11:49 of the contest. However, Miami scored 22 points from the free-throw line to keep the Bobcats from getting into striking distance.
Ohio only forced eight Miami turnovers, a season-low for the home team, and lost both regular-season games to the RedHawks for the first time since the 2005-06 season. The silver lining is that the Bobcats defeated Miami that season in the MAC Tournament.
The Bobcats brought a five-game winning streak into the game, but Miami held the visitors at bay throughout most of the contest. Ohio fell behind early after missing nine of its first 11 shots from the field.
Ohio found themselves down 10 at the break after Miami connected on six of its 10 three-point tries. Meanwhile, Ohio shot 35 percent from the field, missed all five of its three-point tries and forced only one turnover.
Copper led the Bobcats at the break with eight points while Baltic and Washington combined for 12 points and eight rebounds. Adetunji Adedipe was the only other Ohio player to score when he muscled his way in for an offensive rebound and put-back score.
It was the 188th meeting between Miami and Ohio, with the Bobcats falling to 12-31 at Millett Hall and the RedHawks narrowing gap in the overall series to 97-91.
Ohio's tournament seeding rests on the outcome of tomorrow's games. If it earns the No. 4 seed, the Bobcats will have a bye into the MAC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. If it is the No. 5 seed, then Ohio will host Toledo on Tuesday night in a MAC Tournament first round game.
