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Freshman Taylor propels Ohio to season-opening blowout win

Bobcats dominate Mountaineers 73-47


Lonnie McMillan Photo
Ryan Taylor
ATHENS – Freshman Ryan Taylor scored 10 of his 21 points during an early second-half 18-0 run and Ohio ran away with a 73-47 regular-season opening victory against Appalachian State on Saturday at The Convo.

Maurice Ndour posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Antonio Campbell reached double-figures with 11 points in just 16 foul-plagued minutes.

Chris Burgess and Tommy Spagnolo led the Mountaineers with 11 points apiece.

“Our length, our ability to apply our defensive game plan, some freshman that just walked in like he owned the place: Those are the three things that stood out to me,” Ohio coach Saul Phillips said. “Ryan was pretty bashful in his opener, and he held his guy to 2-of-12 shooting in the opener. I knew I wanted to coach Ryan for a long, long time, and I became a much, much better recruiter when I moved to Athens, Ohio. He didn’t want to move to Fargo, North Dakota.”

Ohio’s lead was just 37-29 in the first minute of the second half when Taylor and the Bobcats took over, beginning with four straight points by Ndour on a free throw and a 3-pointer.

After a Taylor jumper, Wadley Mompremier drained a corner 3-pointer before Taylor followed back-to-back triples with another jumper for a 53-29 Ohio advantage. An Ndour free throw capped the run that put the Bobcats up by 25 with 12:47 remaining, and the lead never was less than 20 after that.

“I was just taking what they were giving me,” Taylor said.

Taylor finished 9-of-13 from the floor, including 3-of-5 on 3-pointers, and added four assists and three rebounds without a turnover in 35 minutes. He was forced into major minutes because Javarez Willis had to sit out due to playing in an unsanctioned tournament during the summer.

The freshman was quiet about his performance afterward, but his coach was not.

Lonnie McMillan Photo
Wadley Mompremier
“(Taylor) talks like his next breath might have him doze off,” Phillips said. “He’s a calm kid, always has been, similar to his mother that way. He doesn’t realize what he just did, and he doesn’t need to. I’m not going to tell him because he did just fine.”

The Bobcats shot 52.2 percent in the second half, compared to just 27.6 percent by the Mountaineers, who were just 33.3 percent on the day. They also made just 7-of-16 free throw attempts.

Stevie Taylor scored the game’s first points on a layup eight seconds in, and Appalachian State never held a lead in the game.

Campbell scored two points in the paint for an 18-9 Ohio lead, but the Mountaineers kept the lead from reaching double-digits until the second half. They got as close as four on free throws by Frank Eaves with 1:36 before the break before the Bobcats closed with back-to-back baskets by Ndour and Mike Laster.

With Willis out, Ohio had only eight scholarship players available, but all of them contributed, including Khari Harley, who missed both his true freshman season and last Saturday’s exhibition game with injuries. Harley had one rebound in eight minutes.

Sophomore Mompremier went 4-of-6 from the field and scored nine points to go with three rebounds in 22 minutes.

“Raise your hand if you thought Wadley was going to make a 3 tonight,” Phillips joked.

Freshman Mike Laster added seven points.

That allowed the Bobcats to win going away despite offensive struggles from their two seniors who played. Stevie Taylor finished 1-of-7, while Ndour was just 3-of-11.

Phillips joked that Ohio was Canadian national champions after going undefeated in summer play there, and the Bobcats also won their exhibition against Marietta. He said it was even better to notch his first regular-season win as a Bobcat.

“I want to be part of the fun,” he said. “I came down here and everybody was having fun. I want to add to that fun. Let’s have a Saul Ball Fest sometime.”

Treg Setty, who had six points, will miss Ohio’s next game for having played in the same tournament as Willis.

The Bobcats travel south to face Florida Gulf Coast at 7p.m. Wednesday.

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Photos  (BobcatAttack.com)







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