Jerome Tillman had seen the beginnings of a change in practice.
But for the first time this season, it seemed to show in a game.
Ohio finished its non-conference schedule by handily defeating Bucknell 85-67 on Saturday, preserving its 26-game non-conference home winning streak.
But more importantly, the team seemed to click in coach John Groce's system just before Mid-American Conference play begins.
If you look at the practices from when we first started and now
it's like night and day said Tillman, who finished with a career-high 28 points and 15 rebounds. We're actually seeing the improvements and we're getting better every day.
The Bobcats played teams similar to Bucknell with mixed results.
Ohio beat Holy Cross, Indiana State and Austin Peay among others. But they combined those with losses to Delaware and Marshall on the road.
And with Ohio leading the Bison (3-10) by just six at halftime, it appeared that Bucknell was poised to make a second-half upset bid.
But not with the Bobcats finally starting to gel.
Led by Tillman, Ohio went on a 12-3 run just after the half to increase its lead to 49-34.
The Bison would not seriously contend the rest of the way.
I was really thrilled with how the team played for the majority of the game Groce said. We're not a finished product
but I am excited about the direction we're going in.
The Bobcats didn't do anything different, senior point guard Michael Allen said. They just did it better.
We can honestly see (the offense) being executed at a higher level
said Allen, who tied a career-high with nine assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes.
Ohio (7-6) scored a season-high 85 points and hit a season-high 10 3-pointers against the Bison.
Even more impressive was the fact that they hit 46 percent of their shots beyond the arc.
That hot shooting opened up the inside in the second half where Ohio would dominate.
The Bobcats outscored Bucknell 36-17 in the paint, shooting 58 percent in the second half and 48 percent overall.
(Bucknell) packs it in there at an extraordinary level
Groce said. I felt like we had an advantage there.
With the defending conference champion Kent State Golden Flashes coming to town Sunday, it was important for the Bobcats' confidence to finish their non-conference schedule strong.
They have now won three straight after losing five of six games on the road.
It was big from the standpoint that we knew if we won we'd have a winning record
Groce said. They wanted to head into MAC play with a winning record.
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Sports
Matt O'Donnell
