March 14, 2008

Recap |  Box Score |  Quotes

Ohio Bobcats vs. Miami Redhawks

MAC Tournament Quarterfinals

Quicken Loans Arena - Cleveland, Ohio

PREGAME:

-          Miami defeated Buffalo 69-68 in the first round of the MAC Tournament.

-          Miami is the defending MAC Tournament champion.

-          Ohio earned a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed while Miami is the No. 5 seed.

-          The Bobcats and Redhawks split the regular season series with both teams winning on their home floors.

FIRST HALF:

-          The Bobcats won the opening tip-off.

-          Jerome Tillman hit a 3-pointer from the right side for the first basket of the game.

-          Ohio built a nine-point lead (10-1) before Miami's Michael Bramos scored the team's first field goal of the game with a 3-pointer at 15:56 left in the first half. Miami had been limited to just free throws before Bramos' bucket.

-          A Jerome Tillman 3-pointer at 11:15 snapped a 5-0 Miami run that gave it a four-point lead at 14-10.

-          Ohio connected on six of its first 13 shots (46.2 percent) including 4-of-8 from beyond the 3-point line.

-          With the scored tied 20-20 with 8:30 left to play in the half, Miami and Ohio traded baskets as Miami was able to take just a one-point lead at 31-30 over five minutes of play.

-          Jerome Tillman was Ohio's first player to score in double-digits with an "and-one" free throw attempt following a made lay-up with 5:10 remaining in the half to give 11 points.

-          Justin Orr's slam dunk with 2:34 left to play was the first jam of the game.

-          Miami hit back-to-back 3-pointers between 2:10 and 1:40 to take a 37-32 lead.

HALFTIME: Miami 39, Ohio 35

-          Jerome Tillman paced the Bobcats with 11 points while Michael Bramos (12 points) and Nick Winbush (10 points - tying his career high) were in double-figures at halftime for the Redhawks.

-          The Bobcats were outrebounded 20-10, with Miami's Tyler Dierkers leading the way with a game-high seven boards at the break.

-          Miami shot a blistering 75 percent (6-of-8) from downtown while the Bobcats connected on 5-of-13 three point shots.

SECOND HALF:

-          Ohio opened the half on a 6-0 run before Michael Bramos hit a lay-up to tie the game 41-41 with 16:49 left to play.

-          With 11:26 left in the second half, Miami had compiled six team fouls. The Redhawks had just five fouls at halftime.

-          Ohio closed the rebounding margin from 20-10 to 27-22 with just more than 11 minutes left to play in the second half.

-          After a Leon Williams steal, Bubba Walther went coast-to-coast on a lay-up which snapped a three minute scoreless streak for the Bobcats. He was fouled and made the free throw for a three point play.

-          Miami went on a 6-2 run to take a 61-55 lead with 4:14 left to play in the game.

-          Miami committed its eighth foul of the game with 4:14 left to play and Leon Williams converted on the first attempt but missed the second.

-          Miami took its biggest lead of the game at 63-56 with 2:49 left to play in the contest.

-          A 3-pointer by Michael Allen with 2:00 minutes left in the game gave the Bobcats their first field goal in more than three minutes.

POSTGAME: Miami 74, Ohio 61

-          Miami's Michael Bramos was named MVP of the game after scoring a game-high 23 points and pulling down five rebounds. Bramos hit 7-of-13 field goal attempts, including 3-of-7 from behind the three-point arc.

-          Leon Williams pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds and scored 15 points, giving him 42 double-doubles in his illustrious four-year collegiate career.

-          The Bobcats shot 37.9 percent from the field in the game. Miami stroked at a 45.5 percent clip from the floor.

-          The Redhawks outrebounded the Bobcats 42-31.

-          Miami hit 16-of-21 free throw attempts while the `Cats nailed 9-of-15 shots from the charity stripe.

-          Williams (1,065) is currently Ohio's second-leading rebounder of all-time, behind only Brandon Hunter's total of 1,103.