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Athens, Ohio - Sophomore guard Lunden McDay (Akron, Ohio) scored a career-high 20 points and senior forward Dwight Wilson III's (Tallahassee, Fla.) first half double-double led the way for Ohio as the Ohio men's basketball team (3-1) defeated Cleveland State (0-2), 101-46, at the Convocation Center Sunday afternoon (Dec. 6).
"I'm really proud of our guys for bringing the energy and effort level for 40 minutes," second year head coach Jeff Boals said. "It was one big thing coming into the game we were really concerned about with Cleveland State. They couldn't come in here and exceed our energy or effort level. I thought we got off to a great start, the first couple wars of the game. Even at halftime we talked about being a mature team, being a disciplined team. We wrote zero zero on the board at halftime. Even though we were up 26, we're just really proud of the way our guys came out and extended that lead. Even when you get as big of a lead that we got, sometimes the second, third guys come in and it can get a little sloppy. I thought our guys did a great job of really trying to execute and do what we do. I'm just proud of them."
The Bobcats set a NCAA record for scoring run against a Division I opponent with a 40-0 run to open the second half beginning at 43 seconds remaining in the first half and ending at 8:03 in the second half. The previous record was a 39-0 run in a game between Oklahoma and Weber State on December 22, 2014. Oklahoma led 10-4 with 13:23 left in the first half and the run ended at 49-4 at 1:53.
McDay would end the day with 20 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point range and going 3-4 from the line. Senior Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) posted a double-double in the first half, ending the day with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Junior Jason Preston (Orlando, Fla.) scored 12 points, grabbing seven rebounds and eight assists. Off the bench, junior Rifen Miguel (Luanda, Angola) scored a career-high 10 points going 7-of-8 from the free-throw line while freshman guard Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.) had a career-high nine points.
McDay set a career high in points scored with 20, field goals made with seven, and tied both his three-point made at three and three-point attempts at five. Wilson III set a career high in free-throws attempted with seven. Redshirt junior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) tied his career best in blocks with two and Sears set a career record in points with nine and assists with four.
The last time Ohio scored over 100 points was on December 1, 2018 against Marshall.
For Cleveland State, Deante Johnson led the team with seven points, six rebounds, and an assist, while Jayson Woodrich added seven points and one rebound.
Ohio went 59.3 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three-point range, and 64.9 percent from the free-throw line. Cleveland State shot 22.8 percent from the field, 13 percent from the three-point range, and 81 percent from the free-throw line. Ohio grabbed 50 rebounds and dished out 23 assists in the win.
Ohio won the tip and opened the game with a bang with a dunk from Wilson III. Ohio led the way with a 23-9 run to get things started in the first 9:39 of the game. The Bobcats were ahead by as many as 23 points with two minutes remaining in the first half. McDay ended the first half with a three at the buzzer, sending Ohio to the locker room with a 51-25 lead at halftime.
At the half, Ohio shot 57.6 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from the three-point range and 58.8 percent from the free-throw line. Cleveland State shot 31.3 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from the three-point range and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line. Ohio grabbed out 27 rebounds to Cleveland State's 13. The Vikings served up 15 points off the bench compared to Ohio's eight.
Wilson III paved the way for the Bobcats in the first half, notching 15 points, 11 rebounds and two assists. McDay added another 15 points for Ohio, shooting 2-of-4 from downtown and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Vander Plas started the second half with a three, kicking off a 40-0 run that ended with 8:03 remaining. Cleveland State scored a pair of free throws to stop the run. Aside from three field goals, all of the Vikings' second-half points came from free throws.
The Bobcats return to action on Sunday, December 13 with a trip to Marshall University. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center.
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