coach John Groce said. Their quality of shot was just too good at winning time.
On one play, the Eagles managed to get three offensive rebounds on the same possession before Medlock drained a 3-pointer.
When the game's hanging in the balance and it's time to win and make your surge and push forward
you gotta be able to get stops Groce said. The E on Eastern Michigan's home court must have stood for empty, because the Bobcats ran out of gas.
Ohio (12-11, 3-6 Mid-American Conference) stayed close for much of the contest, but the Eagles (12-11, 4-6 MAC) overpowered the short-handed Bobcats down the stretch, winning 70-61 in Ypsilanti, Mich.
A 3-pointer from freshman guard D.J. Cooper tied the score at 46 with 9:26 remaining, but the Eagles used a 12-4 run to go ahead 58-50.
Senior guard Carlos Medlock finished with a game-high 31 points and scored 11 of Eastern Michigan's final 12 - six from the free-throw line - to put away the game.
Forwards Brandon Bowdry and Justin Dobbins combined for 25 rebounds as the Eagles beat Ohio on the glass, 36-28, and seemed to get every loose ball down the stretch.
They were a lot tougher than us at winning time
coach John Groce said. Their quality of shot was just too good at winning time.
On one play, the Eagles managed to get three offensive rebounds on the same possession before Medlock drained a 3-pointer.
When the game's hanging in the balance and it's time to win and make your surge and push forward
you gotta be able to get stops
Groce said. You may not hit every shot
but you gotta be able to get stops
and we weren't able to do that today at a very critical time in the game.
Ohio started the game with only eight players on the bench. The Bobcats played again without freshman guard Jay Kinney and junior DeVaughn Washington, who continued their indefinite suspensions.
Junior Adetunji Adedipe missed the first half as he took the LSAT earlier in the day. He arrived at halftime but did not play.
As always, Groce did not make excuses for his team after the game.
We had guys in there that are capable of making the plays I'm asking them to make
especially at the defensive end
Groce said. We got to get a lot tougher.
Ohio used the 3-point line to stay close in the second half. After making just two of their seven attempts from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes, the Bobcats hit six after the break.
They went on a 9-0 run - all on 3-pointers - to take their biggest lead of the game, 38-34. But Ohio went ice-cold from outside at the end of the game and missed its last seven attempts.
Junior guard Armon Bassett led the Bobcats with 19 points. Bassett, who was sent to the locker room in the second half of Thursday's 65-58 overtime win against Toledo, didn't start the game but played 34 minutes off the bench.
I thought he played hard
I thought he competed. Groce said.
Cooper added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists for Ohio. Neither team led by more than five in a slow-paced, low-scoring first half. The Eagles shot just 39 percent from the field and held the Bobcats to 32 percent.
A 3-pointer from junior guard Tommy Freeman gave Ohio a 22-21 lead, but back-to-back buckets inside by Bowdry and Dobbins put Eastern Michigan in front 25-21 going into the break.
