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BATON ROUGE, La. –  Despite a spirited second-half effort, the Ohio men's basketball team (5-2) was unable to overcome a poor-shooting first half, falling to LSU (8-0), 66-51, inside the Maravich Center. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 26.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and 50 percent from the line. Meanwhile, LSU shot 46.9 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from three and were 16-of-19 from the line. LSU outrebounded the Bobcats 43-37, while both teams recorded 11 steals. The Bobcats forced 17 LSU turnovers, while only turning the ball over 12 times themselves. 
 
Individually, redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) led Ohio with 12 points, going 4-of-6 from three. He also snagged seven boards and dished out two assists. Sophomore guard Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.) added 11 points and four rebounds, while fifth year forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high nine boards
 
LSU won the tip and opened the game on a 14-0 run. The Bobcats finally snapped the run with a layup from Carter at the 11:24 mark in the half. After the Tigers took an 18-point lead with 9:25 left, the Bobcats' offense started to catch fire with threes from senior guard Tommy Schmock (Cleveland, Ohio), Sears, Carter and freshman forward AJ Clayton (Duncan Falls, Ohio) to cut the Bobcats' deficit to nine with 1:08 left in the half. LSU stopped their scoring drought moments later, extending their lead to 34-22 at the half. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 24 percent from the field, 28 percent from three and 50 percent from the line, while LSU shot 43 percent from the field, 21 percent from three and 88 percent from the line. The Bobcats' outrebounded LSU, 22-21 in the first half. 
 
Sears led Ohio at the half with nine points and three rebounds, followed by Carter with seven points and three rebounds.
 
The Bobcats opened the second half on an 11-3 run, sparked by three made three pointers from Vander Plas to knot the game at 37-37 with 14:07 left in the game. After LSU was forced to use a timeout, the Tigers went on a 4-0 run to take a 41-37 lead entering the under-12 media timeout. 
 
After a scoring drought from both teams, a layup from Sears and a three from Clayton were able to pull Ohio back with seven with 4:53 left in the game. However, LSU went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-point lead with 3:29 left. A three, steal and free throw from junior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) brought Ohio back within 10 with under three minutes to go. However, the Bobcats were unable to continue to chip away, falling to the Tigers 66-51. 
 
For LSU, Tari Eason led with 20 points and five boards, while Darius Day added 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats are back in the Convo before the start of finals when they host St. Francis on Saturday, Dec. 4. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be seen on ESPN3/+. The game will be the second game of a men's and women's basketball doubleheader. 
 
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