Bubba Walther used Ohio's win over Toledo on Wednesday night to get back into his shooting rhythm.
Averaging almost 13 points per game, Walther had two poor shooting nights leading into the Bobcats pivotal game against the Rockets. He shot a combined 5-of-20 in Ohio's previous games against Eastern Michigan and Ball State for a total of 12 points.
Against Toledo, Walther knocked in 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting including four 3-pointers. He said he has been putting in extra hours at night to get his stroke back.
I've been shooting the ball terrible the last few games
Walther said. I came in the last few nights around 11 and have been getting a few hundred shots up. (Against Toledo) I was real focused in the warm-ups and that carried over.
Walther wasn't the only player putting in extra effort on his shot. Sonny Troutman also said he had been getting his confidence back at practice by shooting extra shots. The practice paid off as Ohio (14-7, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) had one of its better shooting nights from outside to compliment its inside game.
The Bobcats shot 59 percent from the floor for the game and converted on 10-of-20 3-pointers. Coach Tim O'Shea said seeing the ball go in was something his squad needed to do as they gear up for two road games.
When we make shots we are a different team O'Shea said. We need this focus and confidence on the road and to just make shots. The game at Ball State was atrocious; we couldn't throw it in the ocean. We need this for momentum.
The Bobcats will look to continue their hot shooting on the road Saturday when they travel to Mount Pleasant to take on Central Michigan (8-12, 3-5 MAC). Walther said if the team can keep shooting well, the Bobcats could finally earn its first road win in the MAC.
This just shows when we are hitting there aren't many teams in the MAC that can beat us Walther said. We have to do this on the road.
With his shots finally falling again, Walther looked more like himself Wednesday as he took his shot when the defense lagged on guarding him. He even hoisted a 3 from well beyond NBA range
O'Shea, who was also pleased with Walther's re-found success from behind the arc, wasn't that upset with his shot. He even made light of it after his team's shooting performance.
Bubba took one where you usually get free tuition or books from where he shot it
O'Shea said. I couldn't believe he took that shot
but he does that and has made them. The adrenaline gets the best of him sometimes.
Forward Jerome Tillman even contributed to the Bobcats' outside success as he cashed in on 3-of-4 3-pointer attempts. After scoring 23 points against the Rockets, he was confident in his team's ability to start winning on the road.
We used the (Toledo) game to get back on track
we dropped three on the road that we know we should have got
Tillman said.
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Nick Miller
