Coming off a big Homecoming win on Saturday; the College of the Ozarks Bobcats were looking to make it two in a row Tuesday at Keeter Gymnasium and were able to do so with a 72-46 win over Calvary University.
Information on the game below from College of the Ozarks Sports Information:
The early part of the game was a defensive battle as neither team could put points on the board. The Bobcats broke through first with a Blaine Cline jumper at the 16:25 mark. Kyle Flavin followed with a pair of free throws and Garrett Simmerman hit two shots to cap an 8-0 Bobcat run. The Warriors got on the board at the 13:09 mark but the Bobcats continued to apply pressure. Josh Linehan and Tanner Rogers hit back to back threes and the Bobcats took a commanding 14-2 lead. The Bobcat defense continued to hold the Warrior offense down, giving up only three points through the first 9:27 of the half. The Bobcats hit a dry spell as well, but the defense stepped up and held the Warriors in check. A pair of Warrior baskets and a free throw cut the Bobcat lead to six, 14-8, but a Drew Vachon three sparked the offense back in motion. With an Andrew Mitchell basket and seven straight points by Josh Linehan, the Bobcats were able to build the lead back to 11, 26-15, with 5:11 left to play in the half. Neither team would score for the next 1:40 but a pair of Blaine Cline free throws and a Tanner Rogers three increased the lead to 14, 31-17 at the 3:30 mark in the half. The Warriors hit a three and a shot in the paint, but the Bobcats answered with a Kyle Flavin three and a Cooper Long jumper. Garrett Simmerman tacked on two more and Blaine Cline drained a free throw to send the Bobcats to the locker room leading 39-22.
The second half started similar to the first as neither team could find a way to score. The teams traded baskets until Garrett Simmerman scored on an offensive rebound and put back. Josh Linehan immediately picked off a pass and hit Kyle Flavin for a layup to build the Bobcat lead to 20. The Warriors continued to scrap but the Bobcats held off every challenge. Matt Luebbert jumped into the scoring Column and Andrew Mitchell drilled a three to put the Bobcats up 54-33 with 12:37 to play. Both teams would go cold once again from the field and the next two minutes became a defensive battle. The Bobcat defense continued to hold the Warriors and slowly the lead would grow. A Garrett Simmerman bucket at the 9:32 mark gave the Bobcats a 59-34 lead and a Tanner Rogers three would follow. A three by CU was quickly answered with baskets by Simmerman and Linehan. The Bobcats continued to get defensive stops and add to their already lengthy lead. A Blaine Cline bucket with 3:35 remaining would allow the Bobcats to start burning some clock, leading 70-37. Calvary continued to attack the basket and added four points to their total. Buck Sanders scored the final Bobcat basket with :18 left on the clock. A Warrior three at the buzzer would cut the gap but the Bobcats cruised to the win with a final score of 72-46.
Following the game, Coach Shepherd commented, “I thought our defense was good in both halves. It’s nice to be able to rely on our defense when the shots don’t fall, and our guys stepped up tonight to make that happen.”
The Bobcats were led by Garrett Simmerman’s double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Josh Linehan added 17 points and four rebounds. Tanner Rogers contributed nine points, Kyle Flavin – 8, Blaine Cline – 7, Andrew Mitchell – 5, Drew Vachon – 3, and Matt Luebbert, Cooper Long, and Buck Sanders each added two.
The Bobcats will be back in action Friday and Saturday at the Baptist Bible College Classic in Springfield. Game time on Friday is 8:15 PM as the Bobcats face Grand View University. Saturday’s game is scheduled for a 6:15 start as the Bobcats square off against Central Methodist.
