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Final Scorebook (PDF) 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –  Despite a third-straight double double from senior forward Dwight Wilson III, the Ohio men's basketball (4-2) could not overcome critical turnovers, falling to Marshall (4-0), 81-67, Sunday, inside the Cam Henderson Center. 

"Number one, give them a lot of credit," second year head coach Jeff Boals said. "They deserved to win the game. We didn't deserve to win. It's tough to prepare for what they do defensively, and Jerrod West is probably one of the best on the ball defenders in the country. They made us work for everything and they denied passing lanes. But the biggest thing was the turnovers and the unforced turnovers that ended in points for them. The turnover point differential was huge for them." 

Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) finished the day with 24 points and 12 rebounds while going 10-of-17 from the field. Junior guard Jason Preston (Orlando, Fla.) finished with 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Redshirt junior Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) finished with nine points, while sophomore Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) finished with seven points. 

Overall, Ohio shot 40 percent from the field, 35 percent from three and were 16-of-20 from the free thow line, while Marshall shot 54.5 percent from the field, 23.8 percent from three-point range and were 16-of-22 from the line. Marshall out-rebounded the Bobcats, 33-30, while the Bobcats turned the ball over 17 times, compared to Marshall's 15. The Bobcats also dished out 13 assists to The Herd's 12. 

For Marshall, Taevion Kinsey scored 28 points, while Jarrod West added 14 points and six assists. 

Marshall won the tip and jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before a Preston jumper put the Bobcats on the board, starting a 6-0 run the out the Bobcats up 8-4 with 15:53 left in the half. Marshall countered with a 7-0 run of the their own, taking a three-point lead with just over 13 minutes remaining in the half. The teams traded baskets before The Herd went on to take a 12-point lead with 3:11 left in the half. 

The Bobcats then took control, starting with free throws and a three from Vander Plas to cut the lead to 33-24 with 2L45 left. Brown and Freshman forward Sam Towns (Columbus, Ohio) both hit free throws to shave the deficit to eight points with 1:39 left. Preston then drained a three from the logo, before hitting his second in less than a minute to cut the Marshall lead to 35-33 heading into halftime. 

At the half, the Bobcats shot 42 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and were 7-of-8 from the free throw line, while Marshall shot 41 percent from the field, seven percent from three and were 6-of-9 from the free throw line. Marshall out-rebounded the Bobcats, 21-16, while the Bobcats recorded five steals and eight assists to their three steals and three assists. 

Individually, Wilson III led the way with 12 points and seven rebounds, followed by Preston with eight points and four assists, including two threes late in the half. 

Ohio cut the Marshall lead to one to open the second half with a free throw by Vander Plas, however, Marshall countered with a three. Preston hit his third-straight three to cut the Marshall lead to 38-37 with 17:59 left in the game. After trading a few baskets over the next few minutes, the Bobcats cut the lead to three with 14:43 left. However, that is as close as the Bobcats would come the remainder of the game, falling 81-67.

Up next, the Bobcats begin Mid-American Conference play on Tuesday, Dec. 22 when they head to Akron for a matchup with the Zips. 

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