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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (8-2) improved to 6-0 inside the Convocation Center, defeating rival Marshall (7-4), 75-65, Wednesday night in Athens. The Bobcats were led by sophomore guard Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.) with 24 points. 
 
"I thought it was a really good win for our team," head coach Jeff Boals said. "We talked coming in, the two keys were going to be, [Andrew] Taylor and [Taevion] Kinsey, and we talked about transition defense, ball screen defense and rebounding. I think I'd have to look but I think this might be the third team we've held them to their lowest point total this season. Our half-court defense has been really, really good this year. We knew that they would make a run, which they did. We made enough plays down the stretch and got to the free throw line. Got to the paint, jump stopped for about 90% of the game and got to the foul line, which you know, that was one of our keys today. So great win for the Bobcats."
 
Individually, Sears led with a game-high 24 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. He went 6-of-12 from the field, 2-of-3 from three and was 10-of-10 from the line. Fifth year forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) added 19 points, nine rebounds and went 6-of-15 from the field and 7-of-7 from the line. Junior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) added 10 points and four rebounds, while going 6-of-7 from the line. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 40 percent from the field, 30.4 percent from three and were 24-of-26 (.923) from the line. Meanwhile, Marshall shot 37.3 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from three and 76.9 percent from the line. Marshall outrebounded the Bobcats, 37-36, while both teams dished out 10 assists. The Bobcats forced 22 Marshall turnovers, scoring 25 points off them. 


 
After Marshall won the tip, junior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) immediately forced a turnover and capitalized when redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) connected on a layup to out Ohio on the board first. The Bobcats took a 6-2 lead until a three from Marshall cut the Ohio lead to one. A three from Brown got the points back, but the Herd countered with a trey of their own, cutting the Bobcats' lead to 9-8 entering the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, a layup from Cater and two free throws from Sears, helped the Bobcats push their lead to 13-10 with 11:50 left in the half. 
 
After Marshall cut the lead to 13-12, a free throw from sophomore forward Sam Towns (Columbus, Ohio) three from senior guard Tommy Schmock (Cleveland, Ohio) and freshman forward AJ Clayton (Duncan Falls, Ohio) increased the Bobcats lead to 22-14. The Herd then went on a 4-0 run the cut the Bobcats lead to 22-19 with 7:46 left in the half. Out of the timeout, the Bobcats went on an 8-0 run that was highlighted by threes from Sears and Brown. However, Marshall was able to stop the Ohio run and cut the Bobcats lead to nine going into the final media timeout of the half. 
 
Over the final four minutes of the half, free throws from Roderick, a three from Schmock and turnaround dunk from Carter kept Ohio's lead at 11, sending them to the locker room with a 39-28 lead. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 41 percent from the field, 38 percent from three and were 7-of-9 from the line. Meanwhile, Marshall shot 37 percent from the field, 29 percent from three and were 2-of-2 from the line. The Herd outrebounded the Bobcats 20-18, while the Bobcats forced 14 Marshall turnovers, scoring 16 points off them. 
 
Individually, Brown led Ohio with eight points, followed by Roderick, Carter and Schmock with six points. Carter added five rebounds, while Vander Plas dished out four assists. 
 
The Bobcats opened the second half on a 9-2 run, including free throws off a technical foul on the Marshall bench, putting the Bobcats up 47-31. However, back-to-back baskets from Marshall cut the Ohio lead to 12 with 15:37 left in the game. Out of the media timeout, Sears went on a personal 6-0 run with back-to-back layups and free throws, giving Ohio a 17-point lead. However, the Herd countered with a 5-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to 53-41 going into the under-14 media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, Marshall cut the Ohio lead to 10, however a 6-0 run from the Bobcats increased the lead back to 16 before the Herd were able to connect on two free throws and a three to cut the Ohio lead to 59-48 with 8:35 left in the game. The Herd would cut the Ohio lead to seven points with 5:41 left in the game. However, the Bobcats responded with two free throws and a dunk from Carter off his own offensive rebound, giving Ohio a 65-54 lead going into the final media timeout. Out of the timeout, Ohio extended its lead to 10. Marshall was able to score five-straight to cut the Ohio lead to five with 1:57 left in the game. 
 
After a 30-second Marshall timeout, Sears drained a three at the buzzer, followed by a block from Carter moments later to help put the Bobcats up 71-63. After another Marshall timeout, the Bobcats capitalized on their free throws, helping secure the 75-65 victory. 
 
"They're good team," Carter said. "Obviously, they have a lot of offensive threats, and you know, we struggled a little bit on offense and when we're struggling on an offense to get a bucket that gives them the opportunity to get out and push and transition. And that's really where it got us. We had a couple of turnovers I think, and you know, just few late shot clock, missed shots or whatever, and they got out and pushed and got a little run because of that and you know, that's just something we got cleaned up but also they are a really good team.
 
For Marshall, four scored in double figures and were led by Obinna Anochili-Killen with 18 points and nine rebounds, followed by Taevion Kinsey with 15 points and seven rebounds. David Early added 14 points, while Andrew Taylor scored 11 points and dished out five assists. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats close out nonconference play right before the holiday break when they host USC Upstate. Tip-off is set for Noon ET inside the Convocation Center. 
 
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