The long wait for a road victory is over for the Ohio men's basketball team. Ohio shut down Central Michigan and coasted to a 74-54 victory Wednesday.
The win is the first road victory of the season for the Bobcats and is the first road victory in the Mid-American Conference for Ohio since the 2003 MAC Tournament. Ohio won at Akron March 10, 2003.
Defensive pressure helped Ohio (8-6 overall, 3-3 MAC) gain its second straight decisive win. Central Michigan turned the ball over 21 times in the game, including 13 in the first half.
The game started out even, with both teams struggling to score early on. The Bobcats took a 10-9 lead with 12:51 remaining in the first half. It turned out to be a lead Ohio would not relinquish. The Bobcats forced four turnovers on their way to a 19-11 lead. Ohio would push the lead up to 21 points, at 38-17 with 3:02 left.
In similar fashion to Saturday's game with Kent State, the Chippewas (7-8, 2-4 MAC) scored the final nine points of the half to make the score 38-26. Kent State scored the final seven points of the half on Saturday.
Ohio came out strong in the second half, just as it did against Kent State. Four minutes into the second half, the Bobcats had stretched the lead to 47-31. Ohio moved back ahead by 20 points, 51-31, with 14:46 remaining.
The Bobcats led by as many as 25 points in the second half, with their biggest lead coming at 71-46.
The key for our team is the defense
Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said. You saw it against Kent State and you saw it even more so tonight on the road.
Ohio placed three scorers in double figures, led by Jeremy Fears with 15 points. Sonny Troutman and Mychal Green scored 14 points and 12 points, respectively.
The next time the Bobcats take the court, they will be playing for a share of first place in the MAC East Division when they take on Miami at 8 p.m. Saturday.
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Kevin Wiseman
