Jerome Tillman hit two free throws, the Convo went into a frenzy and the Ohio men's basketball team pulled out an 80-72 victory over New Mexico State in its first regular season game.
With 27 seconds left and the Bobcats clinging to a 76-72 lead, Tillman came up big at the line, sinking two shots courtesy of the double bonus and sealing a hard-fought win for his team.
Leon Williams, Tillman's compliment inside, played only 17 minutes with foul trouble, finishing with six points. Tillman responded with 20 points and eight rebounds.
I feel like it was good for me to have to do that
Tillman said. I felt like I had to step up go a little bit harder. That's what our team needed.
Jerome always plays bigger than his height coach Tim O'Shea said. He did a great job of rebounding and playing strong.
Prominently a post player, Tillman hit 2-of-3 shots from 3-point range to elevate the Bobcats, who shot 33 percent from downtown as a team. After spending time watching film and working on his shot in the offseason, Tillman said he was prepared to step out and take shots.
I feel comfortable shooting it
he said. I put a lot of time in the summer-time and the spring-time
and it's paying off.
In last season's 77-72 loss to the Aggies, Ohio was outrebounded 51-28. This time around, the Bobcats kept the margin much closer with New Mexico State only holding a 45-38 advantage. Williams, who led Ohio with 8.8 rebounds per game last season, grabbed just five of those boards.
The team focused on rebounding heavily during the week's practice, Tillman said, with last year's game in mind.
We did a good job of team rebounding
he said. Most of the time
me and Leon have to clean up around the bucket
but that was great to get point guards like Justin [Orr] getting rebounds.
In addition to snatching seven rebounds, Orr scored 17 points in his first game as a Bobcat. He said he felt comfortable taking such a prominent role in the Ohio offense.
I tried to go out there and play my game
he said. I tried to let the game come to me instead of going out there and taking my shots. The ball got worked around
and it found me in the right place at the right time.
After the Aggies made an 8-2 run, knotting the game at 65, to erase a 10-point Bobcat lead midway through the second half, Orr scored on a putback to get the Bobcat offense rolling again.
Guard Bubba Walther, who scored 13 points on the night, said the team, especially players returning from last year's loss, dug a little deeper to pull out the win in the final five minutes.
We dug deep. We weren't going to let it happen again
especially at home
