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St. Clair back just in time
Presence of senior RedHawk will be a big help in trying to contain Bobcats' Williams.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
OXFORD — Monty St. Clair is back, just in time for his personal stretch run.
Miami University's 6-foot-9 senior, who has about two months (and perhaps less) remaining in his college career, is expected to be back in the starting lineup at center for today's home game against the Ohio Bobcats.
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It would be St. Clair's first start since Dec. 20, when he suffered a foot injury at Dayton.
He played sparingly off the bench over the next four games, but on Thursday he saw 29 minutes of action against Bowling Green, made his first 3-point basket in more than a month and finished with seven points and four rebounds.
"It feels better than it has," St. Clair said of his injured foot. "It's been a long few weeks. But it feels a lot better, so maybe it's good that I haven't been playing so much.
"It's my senior year," he added. "I really want to help the team any way I can, playing defense, anything."
St. Clair is returning just in time.
He has a two-year edge in experience and 18-pound edge in weight over teammate Tyler Dierkers (who started the last five games in place of St. Clair).
Those advantages will come in handy against Ohio's Leon Williams, a 6-8, 255-pound senior who is close to averaging a double-double this season with 14.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
The Bobcats are looking for their first win away from Athens since Dec. 30, when they beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 79-66 in Cleveland. Since then, Ohio has lost at Marshall 70-60, and Kent State 67-65 in overtime.
"It's tough to win on the road," said Ohio senior forward Sonny Troutman, "and Miami is a tough place to play. When you get down in Miami it is really hard to get back into the game. Miami is real persistent in their offense and plays real solid help defense."
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.
