The Ohio men's basketball team knew defense would be the key to success this season, and Saturday's game against Central Michigan was an example of why it would.
The Bobcats (10-2, 4-0 MAC) used a tremendous defensive effort in the first half to take a 35-7 lead into halftime and continued the game to the final tick winning 76-44.
The Bobcats forced the Chippewas (2-11, 0-5) into shooting 8.3 percent from the field (two-of-24) in the first half as Ohio put together a 24-point run that spanned over 12 minutes.
I felt our defense was pretty good to hold a team to seven points in a half
coach Tim O'Shea said. In all the games I've coached I've never been involved in one where you can hold a team under 10 points in half.
While Central was able to score more efficiently in the second half, Ohio was able to keep its opposition from cutting the lead to no closer than 19. Central ended the game shooting 23.2 percent from the field and had more turnovers (18) than field goals (13) in the contest.
Our defense was great O'Shea said. They couldn't get a look
and when they did get a shot off they were very tough shots.
Once again the Bobcats' bench was a major factor in the game - a reoccurring theme since the Kentucky loss - and outscored Central Michigan 45 to 44 by itself.
Guard Whitney Davis led the team with a career-high 17 points and forward Jerome Tillman scored 11 off the bench.
The second wave off the bench all got this thing in our heads to keep up the pace
and it is a great feeling for the team
Tillman said. Our team is kind of like a heavy weight fight - first round they (the starters) get them
second round we get them and then third round is the knock-out punch where we all build off each other.
Davis, who also had two steals and one assist in his 20 minutes of playing time, said the team was still focused on defense in the second half despite the large lead.
We wanted to sustain the defense and not let up
because it is hard to play the same way at the start of the game when you have a 30-point lead
Davis said. We just tried to not let them back in the game and not do anything to embarrass anyone or injure ourselves.
Forward Leon Williams was the third Bobcat to reach double figures in scoring with 11 points on only three-of-five shots from the field; he also grabbed eight rebounds.
We were told to come out and play defense because the offensive would take care of itself
Williams said. We knew to come out there and pressure the ball and get in their face on defense and it worked.
The Bobcats will travel next to DeKalb, Ill., to take on the Northern Illinois Huskies (8-5, 3-2) in Mid-American Conference action. This west division foe has beat Toledo, Buffalo and Bowling Green so far in conference play and are coming off a loss to Akron on the road.
The Huskies are led in scoring by forward Todd Peterson and guard Mike McKinney with 10.9 and 10.5 points respectively.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. tonight in The Convo.
