BOX SCORE

NOTES

QUOTES

ATHENS, Ohio -- Martelle McLemore tied his career high with 24 points and David Kool added 19, but Ohio shot past Western Michigan, 90-74, in front of 2,880 at the Convocation Center on Tuesday night.

The Broncos (13-11, 5-6 MAC) also got 10 rebounds, nine points and three blocks from Donald Lawson and Mike Douglas added nine assists and six points against the Bobcats (13-11, 4-6 MAC).

Ohio shot 32-of-59 (.542) and made 14-of-23 three-pointers, while the Broncos connected on 25-of-59 shots (.424) and made 8-of-23 three-pointers.

The Broncos got early three-pointers from Martelle McLemore and Kool to open an early lead, 6-2, but then Ohio hit its first five three-pointers to build a 12-point lead, 27-15, with 8:47 to go in the half. Neither team scored for the next 2:47, but then Armon Bassett made his fourth three-pointer of the half to put the Bobcats up by 15, 30-15, with six minutes still to play in the half.

Mike Douglas hit a pair of free throws and Nate Hutcheson converted an offensive rebounds to pull WMU within 11, 30-19, with 5:13 to play. Ohio continued to shoot lights out and eventually built the lead to 20, 45-25, when Bassett made his fifth three-pointer in five attempts to end the half.

Ohio was led by Bassett with 19 points as it shot 58.6 percent (17-29), including 8-of-11 (.727) behind the three-point line in the opening half. The Broncos shot 8-of-25 (.320) overall, 2-of-10 behind the three-point arc and 7-of-12 (.583) at the free throw line. WMU also turned the ball over nine times that led to 16 Ohio points. Ohio's six turnovers led to three points for the Brown & Gold.

The Bobcats opened the second half with a long three-pointer by D.J. Cooper as the shot clock expired to go up 23, 48-25, with 18:28 to go in the half and remained up 23, 55-32, after a lay-up with 16:43 left in the game. The Broncos responded with seven points in a row on two Kool free throws, a dunk by Hutcheson and three-pointer by McLemore to cut the lead to 16, 55-39, with 15:00 still left in the half.

Ohio came right back with seven in a row of its own to regain a 23-point advantage, 62-39, with 13:10 left in the half. The Broncos staged another rally with a 12-3 run over 4:16 to get within 14, 65-41, after two more free throws by Kool. The Bobcats responded with five points in a row to go back up by 19, 70-51, after their 12th three-pointer with 8:07 on the clock.

The Broncos came back with back-to-back triples by McLemore to cut the lead to 13, 72-59, with 6:38 to go in the game, but could never crack that barrier. Ohio answered with a pair of free throws and that was the story the rest of the way. WMU cut the lead to 13 on four occassions, the last time with 2:22 left in the game, but could never get the extra basket to keep putting the pressure on the Bobcats.

The Bobcats out-rebouned the Broncos, 36-34, and held a slight edge in second-chance points, 11-9. The Broncos had two more turnovers, 14-12, but Ohio converted more for a 25-13 advantage in points off turnovers.

Tommy Freeman led Ohio with 30 points, while Armon Bassett had 21 points and nine assists.

The Broncos are off until Valentine's Day (Sunday, Feb. 14) when they travel to Eastern Michigan for a game on Fox Sports Detroit.