2010 was quite the memorable year for sports in the small town by the Hocking. Basketball made a remarkable run, volleyball continued its tradition of excellence and numerous athletes and sports racked up accolades. You won't see anything to do with Rufus or Brutus on this list but you will see ten of Ohio's best sports moments from the year that has been.
1. Ohio beats Georgetown
14 over 3. Not even the biggest of diehards expected this. Ohio shot the lights out in Providence, convincingly pulling the first round's biggest upset, beating the Hoyas 97-83 - and earning a spot on the front of USA Today. The magical March run ended in the second round with a loss to 6-seed Tennessee.
2. The Bobcats are going dancing!
A 9th seed going into the MAC Tournament, Ohio almost didn't even make it to Cleveland. With the first round at campus sites, the Bobcats traveled to Ball State and squeaked out an overtime win. Then they went to the Q and knocked off higher seed after higher seed. First, top seed Kent State, then fourth-seed Miami and three-seed Akron in the title game. It was Armon Bassett who punctuated the overtime classic win over the Zips with a jam. He earned Tournament MVP honors, his 116 points the most in Tournament history.
3. Three-peat!
One team you can always count on in Athens is volleyball. For seven straight years, they had reached the NCAA Tournament. In the 2010 regular season, the Bobcats did not seem to be quite as dominant. They won the MAC East but their 10-6 conference record was no better than four MAC West squads. But come MAC Tournament time, it was business as usual. The Bobcats swept all of their opponents and avenged an October loss to Northern Illinois to capture its third straight MAC Tournament Championship and eighth straight NCAA Tournament berth. There, the season ended in the second round with a narrow five-set defeat at the hands of #12 Duke.
4. Freeman's three shoots down Redhawks
2010's Battle of the Bricks in Athens produced a classic final minute duel. Kenny Hayes put Miami on top 67-66 with nine seconds left. Then the Bobcats stormed down the court and Tommy Freeman nailed the game-winning three with .6 seconds to go. Fans rush the court, insanity ensues and Charlie Coles could only be left to wonder, again, what happened?
5. Bushby beats Buffalo at buzzer
On Senior Day, Jennifer Bushby capped her Convo career with quite a parting shot. With the game tied at 58 and just seconds remaining, Bushby knocked down the game-winner, finishing her day with 21 points. Earlier in the season, she joined select company, reaching 1,000 career points.
6. Historic Homecoming
It was never much of a contest as Ohio handled winless Akron. But those in attendance did witness a couple milestones. Terrence McCrae broke Ohio's all-time TD reception record and Boo Jackson tied the TD pass record. Two weeks later, fittingly on Halloween, Boo notched his 30th career TD pass to break it.
7. Herman heads to China
Ellen Herman's name is plastered throughout the Ohio volleyball history books. Now, she's looking to do the same- in U.S. volleyball. Herman played on the United States Women's National Volleyball Training Team in an exhibition in Guangzhou. In 2009, the outside hitter Herman was selected to be part of the U.S. A2 team.
8. Price a Patriot
For the third consecutive year, a Bobcat was taken in the NFL Draft. Last year, Michael Mitchell went in the 2nd round to Oakland. The year before it was Landon Cohen, a 7th-round selection of the Lions. In the 2010 Draft, the Patriots selected Taylor Price in the third round, 90th overall.
9. Lindsey finishes 6th at NCAA Championships
Germane Lindsey finished off a strong season in the 141 lb. weight class with an All-American distinction. On his way to the 6th place finish among the nation's best, Lindsey defeated #3 Michael Thorn from Minnesota and #11 Christopher Diaz from Virginia Tech. Lindsey got a third place finish at the MAC Tournament.
10. 4OT and 40
You might not expect to find a mid-December out-of-conference game between two teams just over .500 on a list of the year's best. This wasn't your typical one of those though. The Bobcats came back from down 10 against St. Bonaventure to force overtime- then a second, third and fourth. DJ Cooper scored a career-high 43 points but Andrew Nicholson topped that with 44 to lead the Bonnies to a 112-107, 4OT win, in the longest game in both programs' histories.
No comments:
Post a Comment