After an ugly first half in which neither Ohio nor Bowling Green shot the ball well, the Bobcats weren't too discouraged. Despite getting open looks, they shot a dismal 31 percent from the field, but they doubted the drought would last much longer ' and they were right.
Ohio connected on five of six shots to open the second half, swinging the momentum in the Bobcats' favor as they returned to the fast-paced style they prefer to defeat Bowling Green 69-48 ' their largest margin of victory this season.
It was good for us
forward Jerome Tillman said, to get back to playing the way we want to play instead of the slow walking the ball up thing ' we dictated the tempo.
Tillman led Ohio (17-9, 8-5 Mid-American Conference) with 14 points (6-of-12 from the field) and eight rebounds against the Falcons (11-14, 6-7 MAC). It was the second consecutive game that Tillman scored in double figures after three in which he scored no more than seven.
While his frontcourt partner Leon Williams was held to only five points ' none in the first half ' Tillman said he wouldn't have been able to find as much open space without Williams demanding the attention of Bowling Green's big men.
Coach Tim O'Shea's been harping on me to stay on the offensive glass so I was trying to find gaps in the zone Tillman said. Leon was working against big (Otis) Polk
and he's a big body down there. G? They were keying in on him a little bit
so it opened it up a lot more for me than in games past to slip behind the zone.
But it wasn't just Tillman who found himself with extra chances against the Falcons. Guard Allen Hester scored 12 points for the second straight game and added five rebounds and two steals of his own.
It was also Hester's second consecutive start yesterday, and O'Shea said he's now showing the confidence in games that he's exhibited all season in practice.
I'm a little more comfortable
Hester said. I got a little more playing time
which gives me the chance to get in the flow of the game. I just hope I can keep playing this way.
All 12 eligible players on Ohio's roster saw playing time against the Falcons as the game went on, allowing the Bobcats usual workhorses a chance to rest as no one played over 27 minutes.
Not only were the Bobcats able to run the style of offense they preferred against Bowling Green, but they returned to form defensively as well after losing three of their last four games, largely in part to disappointing defensive efforts.
Ohio forced 19 Bowling Green turnovers, while committing only nine, and held the Falcons to 35.6 percent shooting from the field. As the Bobcats stretched their lead in the second half, there was a seven-minute stretch in which they held Bowling Green without a field goal.
The defense was a constant
O'Shea said. The offense was never really pressured that much. We never had that sense of 'Oh we've got to score because we can't stop anybody.' We were consistently getting those stops.
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