Jan. 18, 2008

Box Score

AKRON, Ohio - The Ohio men's basketball team dropped another heartbreaker Thursday evening to Akron, falling in the final seconds, 55-54, at Rhodes Arena. Ohio (10-6, 1-2 MAC) came from nine points behind in the second half to retake the lead in the final minutes of the game, but a tip-in by Akron's (13-3, 3-0 MAC) Nate Linhart with just under five seconds remaining lifted Akron to its 19th-straight home victory.

Trailing 53-52 with 1:17 to play, Ohio senior forward Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) went to the free throw line. Williams stepped to the line and knocked down the first of the one-and-one and then calmly hit the second, giving Ohio a 54-53 lead. On the following possession, senior guard Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) intercepted a pass to give Ohio back the ball. The Bobcats were not able to run much time off the clock however, as they turned it back over to the Zips with 33 seconds remaining, setting up the go-ahead possession. Akron's Jeremiah Wood missed a shot with eight seconds remaining, but Linhart was there to gather the ball and tip it in for the winning basket. The Bobcats had one last shot at it, as they quickly inbounded the ball and pushed it down the court, but Walther's 3-pointer was off the mark as time expired.

Junior forward Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) led the Bobcats offensively with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Williams posted his seventh double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward Justin Orr provided the spark for Ohio's comeback, scoring all 11 of his points during a critical run in the second half that brought the Bobcats back from a nine-point deficit.

The opening 25 minutes of the contest the two teams matched each other nearly basket-for-basket, but several 3-pointers by the Zips lifted Akron to a 45-36 advantage with 10:49 remaining in the game. That's when Orr ignited the Bobcats, knocking down a 3-pointer of his own the very next possession. Orr proceeded to score 11 of Ohio's next 14 points, including hitting three 3-pointers, as the Bobcats ran off 14 of the next 18 points to take a 50-49 lead with 3:33 remaining, setting up the thrilling final minutes of action.

A low scoring defensive battle in the opening half yielded a 24-24 halftime score. Throughout the half neither team was able to build more than a three-point advantage, as there were seven lead changes and five ties in the half. Tillman scored seven of Ohio's first 15 points and finished with nine points in the half to pace the Bobcats.

Junior Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) had a solid night at point guard for the Bobcats, tying a season-high with nine assists and committing just one turnover to go along with five points.

Ohio finished the game 46.5 percent (20-of-43) from the field, while Akron shot 43.1 percent (22-of-51). Ohio out-rebounded Akron 30 to 26, but the Bobcats turned the ball over 16 times to just nine turnovers for the Zips.

The Bobcats return home to the Convocation Center Saturday for their next contest against Kent State at 6 p.m.