ATHENS, OH -- Bubba Walther scored 22 points while Leon Williams added 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds to lead the Ohio University men’s basketball team to a 78-59 non-conference victory over the University of Delaware Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

Jerome Tillman contributed 17 points and eight rebounds while Justin Orr scored 10 points for the Bobcats, who won their third straight game to improve to 5-2 on the season. Ohio shot 50 percent from the field, hit 24 of 28 free throw attempts, and held a commanding 36-19 rebounding advantage to win its 19th consecutive non-conference home game.

Delaware, which fell to 2-5 on the year and had its two-game winning streak snapped, got a team-high 13 points from senior forward Herb Courtney (at right). Freshman D.J. Boney scored a season-high 12 points for the Blue Hens, while senior Sam McMahon also contributed 12 points to extend his double figure scoring streak to 16 straight games. Freshman Edwin Santiago was the fourth UD player in double figures as he scored 10 points off the bench, while sophomore Brian Johnson dished out a game-high six assists.

Ohio, which improved to 40-5 at home since the start of the 2004-05 season, jumped out to an early 9-4 lead before the Blue Hens responded. Delaware used a 13-4 run to take a 17-14 advantage at the 11:02 mark as Santiago scored eight consecutive points. The Blue Hens were still up three at 19-16 with 10:09 left in the half, but Ohio scored 10 straight points to go ahead 26-19 at the 7:16 mark.

Alphonso Dawson stopped the run with a three-pointer, but the Bobcats answered with six consecutive points to take a double digit lead at 32-22 with 4:30 remaining. Dawson hit another jumper for the Blue Hens, but Ohio responded with another 10-0 run as the Bobcats went ahead 40-24. Ohio eventually took a 42-26 lead into the half as the Bobcats held Delaware to just seven points in the final 10 minutes of the period.

The Bobcats extended their lead to 53-36 with 14:39 remaining, but the Blue Hens scored seven straight points to pull within 53-43 at the 11:30 mark. Walther answered with two free throws for Ohio, but Santiago scored on a driving layup and Boney nailed a three-pointer from the wing to make it a 55-48 game with 10:14 to play.

However Williams hit two free throws and Tillman drained a foul line jumper for the Bobcats, and after Courtney hit a free throw, Walther nailed a three-pointer to push the lead back to 13 points at 62-49 with 8:41 left. McMahon answered with a three-pointer, but Delaware would not get within single digits the rest of the game as the Bobcats pulled away.

Walther went 7 of 7 from the field and hit four three-pointers for Ohio, which entered the game leading the Mid-American Conference in scoring, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage. Williams went 5 of 11 from the field while Tillman hit 7 of 10 shots as the Bobcats held a 28-12 advantage in points in the paint.

Delaware, playing its final game before junior transfers Marc Egerson (Georgetown) and Jim Ledsome (Nebraska) become eligible, stayed in the game by hitting a season-best 10 three-pointers on the day.

“Their presence in the paint was the difference in this game,” UD second-year head coach Monté Ross said. “They were physical and shot the ball well, and we didn’t have the presence inside to counter them. I was disappointed in our defense; we gave them too many open shots on the perimeter.”

The Blue Hens take a week off before travelling to Central Connecticut on Sunday, December 16 for a 1 p.m. game with the Blue Devils.

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