CLEVELAND ' Bubba Walther's star performance may have lifted the Bobcats on offense, but what the team did to Bowling Green's star at the defensive end yesterday in the second half proved just as important.
After allowing Falcons guard Martin Samarco to score 10 points in the first half, the Bobcats put the clamp on the Mid-American Conference's leading scorer, limiting him to only 5 points on 2-of-9 shooting in the final 20 minutes.
At the beginning of the game
we were trading a lot of baskets said guard Whitney Davis, who guarded Samarco the most throughout the game. We wanted to distance ourself especially with Samarco because you know he can get hot really quick.
The Bobcats have played strong defense against Samarco all season. Samarco averaged 15.3 points per game in his three games against the 'Cats, more than four points less than he averaged against everyone else. He shot only 27 percent from the field in those three games, well below his 40 percent average for the season.
All right with Miami
Coach Tim O'Shea said Ohio's matchup with Miami today could not come at a better time.
With less than 24 hours between yesterday's game and today's, he said that Miami's slower style of play favors his team.
They're not going to pick us up 94 feet
O'Shea said. We're not going to have to break pressure the whole game unless Charlie (Coles) all of a sudden changes his style of play and starts pressing.
In a slow-paced game in The Convo last Thursday, the Bobcats needed only 52 points to take down the RedHawks.
In terms of a potential matchup in the next round
it's not a bad one for us
O'Shea said.
The Bobcats split their series with Miami this season and have eliminated the RedHawks from the tournament the past two seasons.
New 'dos
Guard Sonny Troutman and forward Kenneth van Kempen decided Cleveland would be the best place their unveil a new hairstyles.Troutman had the script Ohio shaved in the back of his head while van Kempen tied his hair into cornrows for yesterday's game.
He said it
Facing a barrage of questions regarding his job security, Bowling Green coach Dan Dakich took out some frustration on his name tag, which had coach spelled incorrectly.
Now I went to Indiana
and I know it's not the smartest school
but I know that there is no C at the end of coach
he said. This is like a Dan Quayle potato question.
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