Jan. 3, 2009

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Ohio's first three made field goals were all 3-pointers, with two coming from senior Justin Orr. The Bobcats finished the first half 7-of-15 from distance, with their both makes and attempts being first-half season highs for Ohio. The 'Cats also attempted a first-half season-high 34 field goals, making 13, giving Ohio more made 3-pointers than 2-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.

With a pair of free throws late in the first half, senior Jerome Tillman moved into sole possession of 17th place on Ohio's career scoring list, passing Kirk Lehman with 1,299 points. With a dunk in the second half, Tillman surpassed Gerald McKee for 16th on the career scoring list. He finished with a career-high 28 points, including 18 in the second stanza, giving him 1,319 for his career. He is just four points shy of tying Vic Alexander for 15th on Ohio's career scoring list. Tillman went 10-of-16 from the floor against Bucknell, making him 27-of-37 (72.9 percent) from the field over his last four games. His 10 makes tied a career high. He also went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line Saturday, making him 23-of-25 (92 percent) from the stripe in his last three games, including 14-of-14 in his last two. With his 28 points, Tillman has now scored in double-figures in 18-straight games, including all 13 this season. It was the 74th double-figure scoring game of his career and the 16th 20-point game of his career, including five this year. The senior also grabbed 15 rebounds, giving him his sixth double-double of the season and 24th of his career. He has now led Ohio in scoring and rebounding in 10 games this season. The 28 points were the most scored by an Ohio player since Leon Williams scored 30 against Buffalo on March 9, 2008.

Ohio led 37-31 at halftime, giving the Bobcats just their fourth halftime lead of the season, but their second in a row. Ohio improved to 4-0 when leading at the half this season.

Junior Kenneth van Kempen tied his season high for points in the first half alone, scoring six points. He would not score in the second half. He did grab a season-high five rebounds in the game, however.

The Bobcats tied a first-half season high with 21 rebounds, led by Tillman's seven. It is the second-straight game Ohio has grabbed 21 first-half boards. The 'Cats also had a first-half season-best 10 assists on their 13 made field goals, with senior Michael Allen dishing out four of them. Ohio finished with a season-best 41 rebounds in the game, outrebounding its opponent for the second-straight game, the first time Ohio has accomplished the feat this season. The Bobcats also finished the game with a season-high 21 assists.

Ohio committed a season-low two turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play, which Bucknell was unable to convert into any points. The Bobcats finished the game with just seven turnovers, tying their season low.

The Bobcats started the second half on a 19-7 run over the opening six minutes to grab a then-game-high 18-point lead, with seven points coming from Tillman. Ohio led by as much as 20 in the second half.

Freshman Steven Coleman knocked down a career-best three 3-pointers on just four attempts. He was also 4-of-5 from the free-throw line, with his makes and attempts both tying career highs. He finished with 17 points for his seventh-career double-figure scoring game.

Senior Justin Orr scored 10 points, giving him his 16th-career double-figure scoring game and eighth of the season, including four of his last five games.

Senior Michael Allen tied a career high with nine assists, marking the eighth time this season he has led the Bobcats in helpers, while not committing a turnover, which improves his league-leading assist-to-turnover ratio to 2.32-1. The nine assists was also a season high for an Ohio player.

Sophomore DeVaughn Washington tied a career high with two blocked shots in just 14 minutes of action.

Freshman Frankie Dobbs hit his third-career 3-pointer, while also dishing out two assists to no turnovers.

Freshman Stacey Waters knocked down his second-career 3-pointer, while also grabbing his second-career rebound.

The Bobcats outscored Bucknell 48-36 in the second half, marking the ninth time (in 13 games) this year Ohio has outscored their opponent over the final 20 minutes. The Bobcats are +46 in the second half for the season. Ohio made a second-half season-high 18 field goals en route to its second-half advantage.

The 85 points Ohio scored in the win over Bucknell were a season high and the most since the Bobcats scored 94 against Buffalo on March 9, 2008. Ohio went 31-of-65 from the floor, including 10-of-22 from behind the arc, with all four marks being season highs.

Ohio limited Bucknell to just 36.5 percent shooting (23-of-63) for the game, the second-worst percentage by an Ohio opponent this year.

The win extended Ohio's non-conference home winning streak to 26 games, dating back to Nov. 29, 2004, and gave the 'Cats a 5-0 start at home for the fifth-straight season. Ohio is also now 6-0 when the final margin of victory is between 11-20 points.

Ohio improves to 7-6 with the win, putting them above .500 for the first time since Dec. 6, as the Bobcats have now won three-consecutive games. The 'Cats are now 2-0 all-time against Bucknell, as Ohio won at Bucknell last year in the teams' only other meeting. Ohio also improves to 10-4 all-time against the Patriot League, which includes a win over Holy Cross earlier this year.