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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (3-0) returned to Athens on Monday night, extending its winning streak to three games when they defeated Robert Morris (0-3), 85-71, in their first game of the Kentucky Classic inside the Convocation Center. 
 
"I thought tonight was a really good, challenging test for our guys," head coach Jeff Boals said. "With a quick turnaround from Saturday night's game, we got home at 1a.m. And it was more of a mental day on Sunday. I thought our guys did a great job of carrying our game plan from film and walkthrough to the game tonight. That's [Robert Morris] a good basketball team. They're going to win some games. Nine new players. They'll continue to gel and have chemistry and get better, but I thought our guys did a good job sharing a basketball like they always have. Multiple guys stepped up and made contributions and another awesome crowd. Good to see the football team out there. Hopefully they get a win tomorrow. And you know, a good team win."
 
Five Bobcats scored in double figures, starting with fifth year forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) who scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, followed by redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) who added 17 points and 11 boards. Sophomore guard Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.) scored 16 points, while junior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) scored 14 points – all in the second half – and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the line. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 46.4 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from three and 92.9 percent from the line, while RMU shot 49.1 percent from the field, 35.3 percent from three and 73.3 percent from the line. Ohio outrebounded RMU, 36-30, and dished out 13 assists to their 12. The Bobcats also registered three steals and forced 16 RMU turnovers, scoring 18 points off if them. 
 
The Bobcats won the tip, but Robert Morris picked up the first basket of the game to take on early 2-0 lead. However, the Bobcats matched it and then tied the game at 5-5 when Vander Plas drained his first three of the game. After five points of Sears to give Ohio an 8-6 lead, a dunk from Robert Morris tied the game at 8-8 going into the first media timeout.  
 
With the game tied at 15-15, back-to-back threes from Vander Plas and then a dunk from sophomore forward Sam Towns (Columbus, Ohio) gave the Bobcats a 23-20 lead going into the under-eight media timeout. Out of the timeout, Robert Morris cut the Ohio lead to one after a layup. However, a layup from Sears sparked an 8-3 run by the Bobcats that was highlighted by a second chance drunk from Carter, Ohio a 33-24 lead with 3:45 left in the first. 
 
Out of the timeout, Robert Morris cut the Ohio lead to 35-31 with 1:03 left in the half, But with help from a layup from Sears and four-straight free throws from junior guard Lunden McDay (Akron, Ohio,), who ended the game with 11 points, and Carter, the Ohio defense was able to hold the Colonials off the remainder of the half, taking a 39-31 lead into halftime. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 45 percent from the field, 25 percent from three and were 5-of-6 from the line, while Robert Morris shot 45 percent from the field, 22 percent from three and were 1-for-2 from the line. RMU outrebounded Ohio, 18-17, but the Bobcats forced eight turnovers and scored five points off them. Both teams registered six assists, while the Bobcats picked up four steals. 
 
Vander Plas led Ohio with 11 points and six rebounds, while Carter added 10 points and seven rebounds and Sears recorded nine points.
 
Robert Morris opened the second half with the first basket, however eight-straight points from Roderick, including five free throws and one three, helped extend the Ohio lead to 47-37 going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Roderick continued scoring for Ohio, making his run at 12-striaght, to give the Bobcats a 47-35 lead. After Robert Morris cut the Bobcats' lead to nine with 15:23 to go, four-straight points from Carter and a second-chance dunk from Vander Plas pushed Ohio's lead to 14 with 12:45 left in the game. 
 
After RMU was able to cut the Ohio lead to nine with 7:52 left in the game, back-to-back driving layups from Carter and Vander Plas and a layup and a jumper from Sears pushed Ohio to its largest lead of the day, forcing RMU to call a timeout with Ohio leading 72-57 with 6:44 left in the game Out of the final media timeout, RMU was only able to cut the Ohio lead to 13, with the final dagger coming from a McDay corner three with 1:13 left to help seal the 85-71 victory. 
 
For Robert Morris, Kahliel Spear led with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds, while Jaron Williams added 19 points and five rebounds.
 
Up next, the Bobcats head to Lexington, Ky. Nov. 19 to take on No. 13 Kentucky. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Rupp Arena and can be seen on the SEC Network. 
 
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