Saul Phillips will say goodbye to his first full recruiting class Friday night.
Doug Taylor, James Gollon and Gavin Block will each be honored as the three scholarship players of the graduating class. Jordan Dartis, who took a medical redshirt this season, will not walk and will return next season.
While Gollon hasn’t played since Jan. 22 due to injury, Taylor and Block have made major contributions to the Bobcats’ recent string of wins and competitive games. Taylor set a career-high with 20 points in Tuesday night’s 82-79 loss to No. 19 Buffalo. Block’s been the player Ohio leans on when it needs a clutch 3, especially this season without Dartis and Gollon.
When Ohio welcomes Miami into The Convo on Friday night, the Bobcats will be playing for their love of their seniors. No Mid-American Conference regular season title will be on the line or a first-round bye straight to Cleveland. Instead, Ohio already knows it will have to play on the road Monday night.
Friday night will just be the end to the time in The Convo.
“It’s hard, it’s kind of like raising your kids,” Phillips said. “But this is truthfully the first year recruiting class we were able to bring in. I just know them so well and like them.They added more to this program than they took.”
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Game Information
Opponent: Miami
Game time: 7 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Ohio IMG Sports Network
Miami Probable Starters
01 Nike Sibande (6-feet-4, 185)
02 Mekhi Lairy (5-feet-8, 140)
13 Dalonte Brown (6-feet-7, 201)
14 Bam Bowman (6-feet-8, 267)
30 Abdoulaye Harouna (6-feet-5, 180)
Miami Reserves
03 Jalen Adaway (6-feet-5, 201)
12 Darrian Ringo (6-feet-2, 173)
21 Aleks Abrams (6-feet-8, 250)
Miami Statistical Profile:
Points Per Game: 72.0
Rebounds Per Game: 36.9
Turnovers Per Game: 12.7
Field goal Percentage: 43.2 percent
3-point Percentage: 33.1 percent
Free-throw Percentage: 71.3 percent
The series
This game will be the 205th meeting between the Bobcats and the RedHawks. Ohio leads the all-time series 110-94. Ohio has won 10 of the last 13 meetings, but Miami has won two matchups in a row.
Player to watch
Bam Bowman — The big man for the RedHawks destroyed Ohio in the first meeting this season, bodying Bobcats in the paint. Bowman had a career-high 23 points. He also grabbed 12 rebounds in the RedHawks 20-point win over the Bobcats at Millett Hall. He outplayed Doug Taylor in that game, but it’s Taylor’s senior night this time around. Things might be different.
