For a game meant to be a prelude to the season for the Ohio men's basketball team, there was just as much interest off the court as on the court.
While Ohio cruised to an 86-70 victory over Mercyhurst for the teams' only exhibition game, the Bobcats were able to show off the new additions to the team along with trying out different combinations of players for the upcoming season.
Guard Antonio Chatman and forwards Johnnie Jackson and Ken Ottrix all got their first games in The Convo under their belts.
My main goal was for no one to get hurt
get a good workout and play everyone coach Tim O'Shea said. It was a good opportunity to try some new players and combinations and it let guys get over some of their first game jitters.
Chatman, a sophomore transfer from a junior college, showed no jitters in his game by leading the team with 20 points and adding more talent to the point guard position for the Bobcats.
I just wanted to have fun out there and win the game
Chatman said. The team played well
and my teammates helped me out
so it was good.
However, some Bobcats did not suit up to play like Jerome Tillman. Many eyes were focused on the freshman forward, but because of a mild case of mono, his start of the season might not come for three to six weeks.
Jerome is going to be inactive for at least three weeks
O'Shea said. I'm hoping he will be back in action for the Shippensburg game around that time. He will definitely be part of our rotation once he gets healthy.
Jackson, a transfer from Boston College made an impact on the court for the first time in more than a year after sitting out on NCAA transfer regulations. He scored 11 points and grabbed three rebounds in 23 minutes of play and even received a thank you
Boston chant from the crowd after dunking over a Mercyhurst player in the first half.
It felt real good to finally play
Jackson said. The crowd was real into it and gave it more intensity. It didn't count
but it was good game.
Ottrix, another junior college transfer, didn't have as strong of a first game as others but was able to score four points and play 17 minutes.
Ken had some stage fright
but he is a lot better than what he showed
