Guard Tommy Freeman displayed no freshman jitters with the game on the line for the Bobcats Tuesday in The Convo.
With Ohio holding a two-point advantage over Brown and under a minute to play, Freeman buried a game-clinching 3-pointer to push the Bobcats lead to five and ensure an eventual 80-74 victory in the first round of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational. It was the team's first postseason win in 13 years.
Bubba (Walther) told me to shoot it
Freeman said jokingly of his clutch shot. My preparation didn't let me down and I was confident in my shot and I just knocked it down.
Freeman scored all 11 of his points in the second half and tallied three 3-point field goals. Although Freeman picked up two quick fouls in the first half, coach Tim O'Shea stuck with the freshman, and he was not disappointed.
I was so proud of Tommy Freeman's performance as a freshman O'Shea said. What a valuable thing for him to have a postseason.
Freeman, who was unable to make much of an impact in his other two starts, played 20 minutes against the Bears. It was the most action he has seen since a game against Northern Illinois midway through the conference schedule.
Coach gave me the opportunity to stay in a little longer and kind of get into the flow Freeman said. He gave me the chance and I got the opportunity to step up and hit some shots
and I knocked them down.
Forwards Leon Williams (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Jerome Tillman (21 points, 11 rebounds) led the way again for Ohio, combining for 41 points and 23 rebounds against the overmatched Bears defenders.
Ohio was forced to come back from another first half deficit with Brown building a 10-point lead in the first half behind the shooting of guard Damon Huffman, who scored the first 14 Bears points and had 22 by halftime.
The Brown senior finished with 39 points on nine 3-point field goals. For the game, the Bears drained 16 long-range shots on just 31 attempts, good for better than 50 percent.
O'Shea called Huffman's performance the best by any visiting player in The Convo all season and added that the guard made things difficult for the Bobcats.
What a performance
O'Shea said. He was on fire.
Walther totaled a career-high 12 assists and added 10 points to notch a double-double, and guard Michael Allen also finished in double figures, scoring 10 points.
The victory in the CBI was the team's first since 1995 when the Bobcats beat George Washington in the National Invitational Tournament.
O'Shea said that he was glad his team received the opportunity to play following his team's loss in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament.
Ohio will play the winner of Wednesday's matchup between Bradley and Cincinnati. The Bobcats will travel out of Athens for the game, which is scheduled for Monday.
Sayles shines
Forward Asown Sayles played a career-high eight minutes in Tuesday's contest against the Bears. Although he did not score in the game, he made a good impression on O'Shea.
For Asown especially it has to be a tremendous confidence booster to have a game like that going into the spring and summer getting ready for next season
O'Shea said.
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