Redshirt senior Elijah Minnie led the way in scoring 19 points during the Feb. 12 game against Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. With the 66-57 win over the Ohio Bobcats, the Eagles move to 11-13 overall and 5-6 in conference play. Senior James Thompson IV had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
The Eagles missed their first 11 shots to allow the Bobcats to open the game with a 12-0 lead. Sophomore Kevin McAdoo’s 3-point shot with 4:25 left in the first half put the Eagles in front, 22-21, for the first time in the game.
Coming into the game, Thompson had scored a total of 12 points in his last three games. Against the Bobcats, he was back to normal form, scoring nine points in each half and leading the team in rebounds.
Not to be outdone, the Bobcats had a pair of scorers in double figures as well. Jason Carter and Teyvion Kirk both scored 18 points, with both players scoring nine points in each half.
Redshirt senior Paul Jackson continued his streak of scoring double digits for his 12th straight game by scoring 10 points. Jackson has done this dating back to Dec. 22 against Siena Heights University, although he didn’t reach his average.
Redshirt freshman Tariq Silver started his second straight game for the Eagles. After not scoring any points in the first half, he scored eight of the Eagles’ first 10 points in the second half to help extend the lead.
The Eagles went 11 for 15 from the free-throw line. That’s better than their 66 percent average on the year. Their first points of the game came from the free-throw line, as Thompson put the Eagles on the board
The Eagles largest lead of the game was a 63-43 tally with 10:36 left in the second half.
The Bobcats made it close late, cutting the lead to 64-55 with under a minute to play. Jackson made a steal and followed that up with two free throws to put the Eagles out of reach of the Bobcats.
The Eagles defense was able to keep the Bobcats off balance to start the second half. That allowed the offense to extend the lead as much as it did. Before the Bobcats went on the late run to shrink the lead, they had only scored eight points with 10:02 left in the second half.
Last season, the Eagles went 7-1 to close out the season heading into the MAC tournament. The Eagles look to repeat history this season, with four of their last seven games at home.
Coach Rob Murphy and his players were not made available for comment after the game.
The Eagles will stay on the road as they travel to Kent, Ohio to take on Kent State University Saturday, Feb.16.
The last time the Eagles played Kent State resulted in a 95-61 victory for the Eagles earlier this season.
