Feb. 19, 2008

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

ATHENS, Ohio-Junior forward Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) posted a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds to lead the Ohio men's basketball team to a 69-48 win over visiting Bowling Green Tuesday in the Convocation Center. The Bobcats improved to 17-9 overall and 8-5 in the Mid-American Conference, while the Falcons dropped to 11-14 overall and 6-7 in the league.

The win was Ohio's 11^th straight home win dating back to last season.

Junior guard Allen Hester (Oakland, Ca.) also put up 12 points, while senior guard Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) notched 10. Junior guard Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) and sophomore forward Asown Sayles (McKeesport, Pa.) had three assists to go along with Allen's three steals.

BGSU was led by Nate Miller and Joe Jakubowski who had 12 points apiece, while Miller also posted nine boards and three steals. Otis Polk also proved to be a force on the inside and he posted three of his four blocks in the first half.

Ohio won the battle of the boards 38-31 and forced 19 BGSU turnovers which became 22 Bobcat points. Most of those Falcon turnovers resulted in 13 Ohio steals and helped fuel the Bobcats' 17 assists on 26 field goals. The Bobcats also held a dominating 18-4 edge on points in the paint and posted a 20-point advantage (27-7) on bench points.

Eleven of the Falcons' 16 field goals came via the 3-pointer, while the Bobcats went 8-22 (36.4 percent) from long range.

The beginning of the game told a much different story as BGSU raced out to an eight-point lead (15-7) on a 3-pointer by Jakubowski with 10:38 to go in the half. However, the Bobcats came right back with an 11-0 run over the next four minutes, 27 seconds to take an 18-15 advantage on a free throw by Hester at the 6:11 mark. The two teams fought to a 22-22 draw by the half.

The Falcons then hit a fatal cold spell at the outset of the second half, connecting on just two of their first 13 field goal attempts. By the time Brian Moten's 3-pointer went down at the 7:09 mark, BGSU found itself in a 49-32 hole that it would prove insurmountable. The Bobcats increased the lead to as many as 24 points on two occasions, the last time coming on a thunderous one-handed windmill fastbreak dunk by freshman forward DeVaughn Washington (Virginia Beach, Va.) with 22 seconds remaining.

The Bobcats also secured a 16-7 edge on second chance points, due in large part to a 17-10 edge in offensive rebounds.

Ohio remains in third place in the MAC East despite the win, one game behind Akron (19-7, 9-4 MAC). The Zips picked up a 56-52 win at Miami (13-12, 7-6 MAC) Tuesday night.

The Bobcats will be back in action Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. (ESPN2) against George Mason in the BracketBuster matchup. GMU is currently in second place in the Colonial Athletic Association with an 18-8 mark and a 10-5 league record.