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ATHENS, OH - Ohio coach John Groce wasn’t sure if “teamness” is a legitimate word, but he knows the word “win” is in the dictionary, and the former term played a part in the latter Saturday as the Bobcats defeated Buffalo 99-77 before a Dad’s Day crowd of over 10,000 at the Convocation Center.
The victory broke a four-game slide for Ohio, which had lost all four previous MAC contests. Buffalo, meanwhile, dropped its second road game of the week after falling to Kent State Wednesday. The two losses backed UB into a four-way tie for first in the MAC East.
“I thought our ‘teamness’ – I don’t know if that’s a word; a coach I used to play for at Taylor University used it all the time - … was good today,” Groce said. “We had everybody dialed in and on the same page.”
That page may have included some tips about dealing adversity, because the Bobcats finally found a way to move past in-game adversity long enough to post a conference win.
“I thought that was the best job (we’ve done with) what I call ‘dealing’ … dealing with a mistake or missed shot or turnover, or (when) they score three or four times in a row,” Groce said. “No one dropped their heads today. We kind of just kept playing, and that’s a huge thing that I’ve been waiting to see from our team.
“We needed a win today to show our team what we we’re capable of, and we knew what we were capable of, but we were never really there yet,” senior center Kenneth van Kempen said. “You could feel that the team (over) the last couple days really came together.”
Forward Tommy Freeman led the way for Ohio with 27 points, a career high and just four points off his total during the rest of January. The junior made 7-of-10 shots from the field, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc.
“In scouting them, I knew that our guards were going to be able to get into the lane, and it was going to be a pretty fast-paced game,” Freeman said. “I knew that if I focused on those two things, I knew the guards would do a good job of finding me, and they did.”
Freeman was joined in double figures by the rest of Ohio’s starting unit. Jay Kinney netted 18, while Armond Bassett tossed in 16 points. Van Kempen and Reggie Keely chipped in 10 points apiece.
“We have so many weapons, that … you can’t really key in on one guy, and I think that’s what makes us dangerous,” Freeman said.
John Boyer paced the Bulls offense with 10 markers, and Rodney Pierce added 17.
Pierce, who owns a 40.3 percent field goal average and was ranked second among MAC scorers (18.7 ppg), made just 6-of-20 from the floor, including 1-of-6 from behind the arc.
Neither team could gain a sizable advantage through the early going, and Boyer’s three-point goal at 8:54 tied the contest at 18-all. Ohio, however, then went on a 15-4 run to go up by 11.
It was still a seven-point advantage when Ohio scored nine unanswered points to end the half. Two Freeman treys started the run, and Ivo Baltic’s alley-oop layup just before the buzzer put the hosts up 47-31.
Ohio shot 55 percent from the field in the first half while pressuring Buffalo into 11 turnovers.
The big Ohio crowd had barely settled into its seats after intermission when Keely took the inbounds pass and slammed it home. The Bobcats eventually built up a 25-point lead and kept the Bulls in their rear view mirror for the remainder of the trip.
Ohio returns to action Wednesday when the Bobcats travel to Northern Illinois. Buffalo returns home Thursday after a pair of lopsided road losses to host Ball State.
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