Jan. 23, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Ohio men's basketball team posted four players in double figures as it held off a determined Buffalo squad by a 68-59 score on Wednesday evening at Alumni Arena. The Bobcats improved to 12-6 overall and 3-2 in the Mid-American Conference, while the Bulls dropped to 6-11 overall and 0-5 in the league.

Junior guard Bert Whittington IV (Temecula, Calif.) led the `Cats with 21 points, while freshman guard Tommy Freeman (Muncie, Ind.) had a breakout performance of 13 points on 3-4 shooting from the field (2-3 on 3-pointers) and 5-5 from the free throw line. Junior forward Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) chipped in 11 points, while senior forward Leon Williams (Baltimore, Md.) had 10 points and shared game-high rebounding honors with Tillman (nine).

Junior guard Michael Allen (Detroit, Mich.) had five assists, while he and Williams posted a game-high three steals each.

The Bulls were led by Andy Robinson's game-high 23 points and three assists to go with Calvin Betts' seven boards.

Both squads shot reasonably well from outside (Ohio 9-21, 42.9 pct.; Buffalo 9-22, 40.9 pct.), but the Bobcats' edge on the glass (39-28) allowed them a 16-3 edge in second chance points to tell the story of the game. Ohio also enjoyed great consistency as it shot 48 percent from the field in both halves, while the Bulls had to rebound from a subpar shooting effort (9-29, 31.0 pct.) in the first stanza.

Although the Bobcats lost the bench battle 25-13, it was Freeman's 10-point first half that provided a shot in the arm for the Ohio offense, spurring the Bobcats to a 33-25 advantage at the half.

Buffalo actually led by as many as four early on (12-8) on a 3-pointer by Robinson four minutes, 12 seconds in the game. However, Ohio countered with a mini 6-2 run to draw even at 14 on a 3-pointer by Whittington with 11:41 to go in the first half. The Bobcats led the rest of the way, including what became a 13-point bulge (41-28) on a long-range bomb by Freeman two minutes, 46 seconds into the second stanza.

The Bulls battled back though and drew within one on two occasions, the last coming with 7:46 to go on a pair of free throws by Robinson (54-53). Buffalo's Sean Smiley had a pair of jumpers designed to wrench the lead away from Ohio, but the Bobcats got back-to-back treys from Tillman and Whittington to pull away for good.

Ohio shot 47.9 percent (23-48) for the game, while Buffalo shot 36.8 percent (21-57).

"Any road win is a good win," said Ohio head coach Tim O'Shea. "I thought we could have finished it better, but this is a difficult place to play. If we're going to be a championship team, we have to handle situations better down the stretch. That is something we're going to work on, but again, this is a fantastic road win."

"I was really pleased that Tommy Freeman made the most of his minutes," O'Shea said. He's one of our hardest workers and is a great example for everyone on our team about perseverance. Bert has also put himself in a great position to get good minutes down the stretch with his recent performances."

The Bobcats will be back in action at the Convo Saturday at 2 p.m. against Ball State (3-14 overall, 2-3 MAC) on Dad's Weekend.