Geno Ford didn't leave The Convo with a win, but he did come away impressed.
The former Bobcat point guard made his first trip to Athens as Kent State's coach on Sunday and was handed a 71-65 loss by his alma mater.
Ford said he was disappointed with the way his team played, but he raved about Ohio forward Jerome Tillman.
We knew going in that Tillman was going to be a problem
Ford said. As the game wore on he was the difference in the game. He's the best player in our league and it's not even close.
Tillman finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, one short of his third-straight double-double.
But those stats are deceiving, Ford said, because every rebound Ohio grabbed was a result of Tillman.
Tillman just made our post players look bad at times he said. He just threw guys out of the way and went up like a man in traffic and grabbed two-handed rebounds around the rim.
At halftime, though, it appeared Tillman was headed for an unusual off night.
He had just four points and three rebounds. Early in the second half, he had his streak of 15 consecutive free throws made snapped with two straight misses.
But he more than made up for that later.
Tillman hit the 3-pointer that put Ohio up for good, connected on his last six free throws and threw down a two-hand dunk at the end of the game that sent the crowd into hysterics.
Allen dishes out communication
Point guard Michael Allen was one of six Bobcats to score eight points or more against Kent State.
But that wasn't what impressed coach John Groce.
Allen had six assists compared to just one turnover against the Golden Flashes. He now has 23 assists to just three turnovers during Ohio's four-game winning streak.
Today is the best connection I've had with him during a game
Groce said. I've challenged him - that would probably be the polite way of saying it - over the last two or three weeks to communicate more.
