Ohio watched an 18-point halftime lead evaporate but held on to beat Brown 75-71 Monday night in Providence, Rhode Island. Sonny Johnson led the Bobcats (1-1) with 24 points and Brandon Hunter tallied 18. Freshman Jeff Halbert had 15 for Ohio, most of them coming in the final crucial minutes. Pat Powers was the leading scorer for Brown (1-5) with 24 points.

The 2002-03 campaign got off to a rocky start for the Ohio basketball team as it dropped its opener 91-68 against Providence College Saturday night in Rhode Island. Brandon Hunter lived up to pre-season hype with 28 points and 11 rebounds but didn't get much help from his supporting cast. Sonny Johnson was the only other Bobcat in double figures with 10 points.

In his third recruiting class, Tim O'Shea signed four high school seniors to National Letters-of-Intent during the November signing period. BobcatAttack.com proudly presents the 2003-04 recruiting class.

Matt Annen, 6-6, 220, Forward

Annen, attends Elk River High School in Minnesota where he has earned three letters during his career. He averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds as a junior, helping the team to the sectional final. The Elks advance to the state quarterfinals his sophomore season....

Tim O'Shea is realistic.

While he certainly won't complain about the accolades being thrown at his 2002 Ohio Bobcat hoop squad, he knows all the preseason kudos in the world won't help Ohio advance to the NCAA tournament this March.

However, Ohio's head coach does see an opportunity for this year's team, loaded with seniors, to go out on top after several disappointing finishes, including last season's 17-11 mark. He would like nothing better than to send seniors Brandon Hunter, Steve Est...

Brandon Hunter tallied 28 points and 12 rebounds and Steve Esterkamp notched 18 points and 10 boards Saturday to lead Ohio to an 89-77 exhibition victory Saturday at the Convo over a group of college, international and CBA all-stars.

Fellow senior Sonny Johnson also reached double figures for the Bobcats with 16 points.

Former South Florida star and CBA player Brian Taylor led the way for International Select with 20 points, while Joel Bullock and Jordan Kardos tallied 13 apiece.

Aft...

The Ohio men's basketball team was picked to finished first in the MAC's Eastern Division by media members at today's MAC Media Day in Cleveland. The Cats received 22 of 36 first-place votes. Miami was picked to finish second and Kent State third. Ball State is the pick to win the West and the MAC Tourney at Gund Arena. The Cardinals return three starters from a team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT.

Coach Tim O'shea has received two more verbal commitments for the 2003-04 recruiting class. Find out more on the BobcatAttack.com basketball recruiting page.

Basketball season is right around the corner and Rollie Merriman found some of the 2002-03 Ohio Bobcat squad getting in some practice at a dimly-lit Convo.

For the first time in school history, an Atlantic Coast Conference school will visits Athens as Virginia takes on the Bobcats Feb. 26th in the Convo. The game with the Cavaliers highlights the home portion of Ohio's 2002-03 basketball schedule announced today. Ohio starts the season with five road games before its December 20th home opener versus Navy. After a trip to Madison to tangle with Wisconsin, the 'Cats return home for New Year's Eve afternoon battle with St. Bonaventure.

OU starts th...

Ohio head basketball coach Tim O'Shea announced today that Old Dominion's 6-11, 220-pound sophomore center Clay McGowen will be transferring to Ohio University. McGowen averaged 5.3 points and 5.2 rebounds this past year for ODU. He appeared in all of the team's 29 games and started 12.

McGowen prepped at Westerville North High School where he averaged 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds as a senior. He was ranked by Prep Spotlight as the second best center in the state of Ohio. McGowen will have to...