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Champaign Ill. – Led by a career-high 31 points from junior guard Jason Preston (Orlando, Fla.), the Ohio men's basketball team (2-1) pushed eighth-ranked Illinois (3-0) to the brink, before ultimately falling in the final seconds, 77-75, inside of the State Farm Center Friday afternoon (Nov. 27).
"I'm disappointed that we didn't win," second year head coach Jeff Boals said. "I thought we deserved to win. I am super proud of our guys. They battled for 40 minutes and we just happened to come up short at the tail end. To come in here against a top-10 team in the country on day three and game three, the fight, heart and toughness that our guys showed was great. I could not be more proud of where we are and overall just really proud of them."
Preston finished the game with a career-high 31 points, going 13-of-23 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range, grabbed six boards, dished out eight assists and had zero turnovers. Redshirt junior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) finished with 20 points, going 8-of-18 from the field, while grabbing five rebounds. Senior forward Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) finished with 12 points, a team-high eight boards and one block.
For Illinois, Ayo Dosunmu finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, while Kofi Cockburn finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Overall, Ohio shot 47.7 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from three-point range and were 4-of-9 from the free throw line, while Illinois shot 48.3 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and were 15-of-24 from the free throw line. The Illini out-rebounded the Bobcats, 45-25, while Ohio dished out 16 assists to their 14. The Bobcats also forced 16 turnovers and scored 21 points off of them, while Ohio only turned the ball over seven times.
Ohio won the tip, but Illinois got on the board first. However, Preston gave Ohio their first lead of the day with a three. Both teams battled over the first five minutes with a three from Vander Plas giving Ohio a 10-9 lead with 14:35 left in the half. After Illinois took the lead, a jumper from sophomore forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) gave Ohio the lead back with 10:56 left in the half.
Illinois went on a run, taking a 30-21 lead with 5:30 left in the half. However, back-to-back layups from Preston and Vander Plas and then back-to-back three pointers from sophomore guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) and Preston gave the Bobcats a 31-30 lead with 2:51 left in the half. After Illinois retook the lead, a jumper from Preston tied the game at 34-34. However, Illinois hit a free throw in the final seconds, sending the game to the locker room with Ohio trailing 35-34.
At the half, Ohio shot 41.2 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 33.3 percent from the free throw line, while Illinois shot 51.9 percent from the field, 25 percent from three-point range and 50 percent from the free throw line. Illinois out-rebounded Ohio 22-13, while Ohio dished out seven assists to their five.
Individually, Preston led the Bobcats with 20 points, four rebounds and two assists. Vander Plas added seven points, while Wilson III grabbed five boards.
Preston opened the second half just as he finished the first, with a layup to give the Bobcats the lead back early in the second half. After that, the Bobcats and Illini traded baskets before a three from Vander Plas and a jumper from Roderick put the Bobcats up 49-41 with 13:47 left in the game.
Illinois went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 49-49 before layups from Preston and Wilson III gave the Bobcats a four-point lead back with just over 10 minutes to go. After both teams traded buckets, Illinois took a five-point lead with 8:24 left.
Out of the media timeout, the Bobcats kept scrapping, tying the game at 63-63 with 4:33 left after two more points from Wilson III. Moments later, a huge three from Vander Plas and a free throw from Preston gave Ohio a four-point lead with 1:56 to go.
After Illinois retook the lead with 35 seconds left on a three, a jumper from Preston regained the lead for the Bobcats, 75-74, with seven seconds left. However, three made free throws down the stretch by Illinois gave the Illini the lead again with just under one second to go, securing the 77-75 victory.
Up next, the Bobcats return to Athens on Sunday, Dec. 6 to take on Cleveland State. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
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