PREGAME
Ohio (13-4, 3-2) travels to Eastern Michigan (11-7, 3-2) today for an 11 a.m. matchup against the Eagles on ESPNU. The Bobcats dropped their last contest to Bowling Green 58-56 that ended a two game winning streak. Ohio is seeking its third straight Mid-American Conference road victory. Eastern Michigan is coming off a 10-point loss at Akron Jan. 22. The Eagles, who have played the 11th toughest schedule in the nation lead the MAC in field goal percentage defense and are ranked third in the conference in scoring defense.
Starting Lineups:
Ohio: senior guard Nick Kellogg, redshirt senior forward Jon Smith, senior forward T.J. Hall, junior forward Maurice Ndour and junior guard Stevie Taylor.
Eastern Michigan: redshirt junior guard Mike Talley, senior center Da'Shonte Riley, junior forward Karrington Ward, redshirt senior guard Anthony Strickland, sophomore guard Darell Combs.
FIRST HALF
After 20 minutes of basketball at Eastern Michigan, Ohio trailed 30-22.
The Eagles opened up the game with a 9-0 lead as the Bobcats had trouble with Eastern Michigan’s 2-3 zone early in the contest. Ohio only had two field goals in the first eight minutes of the game. The Bobcats entered the scoring column with 15:56 remaining in the first half as redshirt junior guard Javarez Willis hit a three-pointer.
The Eagles offense was hot starting off the game, as they increased their lead to 11 points with 11 minutes remaining in the first half. Ohio found some offensive consistency with eight minutes remaining in the first half as Bobcats junior guard Stevie Taylor converted two consecutive three pointers that cut Ohio’s 20-9 deficit to five points. Taylor was then whistled for a technical foul for taunting with 7:54 left in the first half. Ohio only had one point until the 3:14 mark of the first half. The Bobcats closed out the first half by scoring six points on a Taylor triple and three free throws.
FIRST HALF BOX
EMU
Karrington Ward nine points, 10 rebounds, two assists
Mike Talley six points, one block, one assist, two rebounds
Anthony Strickland four points, two blocks, one steal, one rebound
Darell Combs three points, one rebound
Da’Shonte Riley two points, one block, one assist, four rebounds
Ohio
Stevie Taylor nine points
Maurice Ndour three points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals
T.J. Hall two points, two steals
Nick Kellogg two points
SECOND HALF
The Bobcats overcame a slow start to upend the Eastern Michigan Eagles 58-56 to win their fourth straight road contest.
Ohio made their final six baskets of the contest and senior guard Travis Wilkins came up with two defensive turnovers and a steal down the stretch as the Bobcats ended a one game-losing streak. With 4:47 remaining in the game, Ohio had key contributions from redshirt senior forward Jon Smith and Willis. Smith knocked in two back-to-back jumpers and Willis gave the Bobcats their first lead of the game with 28 seconds remaining in the game. Willis finished the game with 12 points. Nine of his total points came in the second half.
Despite the fact that Ohio did enough to stick around in the second half, the Bobcats hopes took a significant blow as Taylor fouled out of the contest with 4:53 reaming in the game. He finished the game with 14 points. The Bobcats defense came up late for Ohio as the Eagles only scored five points in the last five minutes of the game.
FINAL BOX SCORE
Ohio
Stevie Taylor 14 points, one assist and one steal
Javarez Willis 12 points, one assist and one steal
Nick Kellogg 12 points and two assists
Maurice Ndour seven points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and one steal
Jon Smith four points 10 rebounds, two assists and a steal
EMU
Glenn Bryant 14 points and seven rebounds
Karrington Ward 13 points, 10 rebounds and one assist
Anthony Strickland four points, three rebounds, two steals and one block
Mike Talley six points, three rebounds, two steals and one assist
