Dec. 6, 2005
Final Stats
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.-Leon Williams and Mychal Green tallied 15 points apiece to lead the Ohio men's basketball squad past Marist 69-63 Tuesday evening at the McCann Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The Red Foxes fell to 2-2 with the loss, while Ohio improved to 3-0.
After being down 9-7 early with 14:58 remaining in the first half, the Red Foxes raced out to a 10-3 run over the next 3:30 to go up by five (17-12) on a 3-pointer by junior James Smith (Nyack, N.Y.). However, the Bobcats made a 13-0 run of their own over the following 4:14 to lead by eight (25-17) on a free throw by Whitney Davis.
After giving up another 8-0 run to Ohio in the second half's first 3:38 (42-28, Green's 3-pointer with 16:12 remaining), Marist matched that run to draw to within three at 50-47 with 7:41 left on a free throw by junior Jared Jordan (Hartford, Conn.). The game seesawed back and forth until Smith rebounded a missed free throw by Jeremy Fears with 23 seconds left to give the Red Foxes a chance to win the contest. However, Jordan missed two tough leaners in the ensuing possession and the Bobcats salted the game away with free throws.
Jordan posted a game-high 28 points, just four shy of his career-high to go with four assists and a 4-for-8 shooting effort from the 3-point line. Smith, who was the only other Marist player in double figures with 11, chipped in three blocks as well. Aside from Williams and Green, Fears and Jeff Halbert also posted double digits with 11.
Fears also paced the Bobcats with six assists and a pair of steals. Green and Halbert went a combined 7-for-11 from 3-point range, while Marist junior sharpshooter Will Whittington (Kingwood, Tx.) missed all six of his long-range attempts on an uncharacteristically cold night.
Marist won the rebounding battle 43-36, led by redshirt sophomore Ryan Stilphen's (Bay Village, Ohio) 11. Williams was Ohio's top rebounder with nine.
Ohio shot 42.6 percent (26-for-61) for the game, compared to 38.3 for Marist (23-for-60). The Bobcats also held the edge in 3-point shooting with an 8-for-20 effort (40 percent), while Marist went 7-for-23 (30.4 percent). However, the Red Foxes nailed all 10 of their free throw attempts, while Ohio went just 9-for-17 (52.9 percent).
Marist will head to Manhattan (0-4) on Friday for its league opener at 7 p.m.
