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Box Score (PDF) 

CLEVELAND – For the first time since 2012, the Ohio men's basketball team is dancing. The fifth-seeded Bobcats (16-7) finished their Mid-American Conference Tournament quest, defeating No. 2 Buffalo (16-8), 84-69, Saturday night (March 13) inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, earning their seventh league title. 

Sophomore guard and tournament MVP Jason Preston (Orlando, Fla. ) led the Bobcats with 22 points, going 9-of-16 from the field, while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out seven assists. Sophomore forward Ben Roderick (Powel, Ohio) added 20 points, going 6-of-9 from the field and hitting all six of his free throws. Senior forward Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds. 

"It was an unbelievable performance by our guys," head coach Jeff Boals said. "I'm a proud coach and I know that we made a lot of people in Bobcat Nation happy. The most proud I am of this group is their character. What they've been able to go through this last month and a half to get to this point."

Redshirt junior Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team, along with Preston. Preston also surpassed 1,000 career points in the victory. 

As a team, Ohio shot 50 percent from the field, 53.3 percent from three and 76.3 percent from the line, while Buffalo shot 34.4 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from three and 74.1 percent from the line. 

"It's so surreal," Preston said. "We've had this goal and these last couple week's we've really locked in. We really wanted it. It was nice to win the first game and it was nice to win the next game, but we knew we still had a lot of work to do. I'm so grateful to be here right now." 

Buffalo out-rebounded Ohio, 40-36. However, the Bobcats continued to dominate the paint, scoring 40 points. 

Ohio grabbed the first bucket of the game, however, UB would score five quick points to take a 5-2 lead. The Bobcats then went on a 16-0 run to quickly take an 18-5 lead with 12:03 left in the half before UB stopped the run with two free throws. A Sears layup with just over five and a half minutes to go, pushed Ohio's lead to 13 before back-to-back threes from Roderick and Preston put the Bobcats up 30-13

The Bulls would cut Ohio's lead to 16 with a minute to go in the half, but a jumper from Wilson III and another three from Preston gave Ohio a 41-21 lead going into the locker room. 

In the first half, the Bobcats shot 51.5 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from three and were 2-of-2 from the line. Meanwhile, UB shot 23.1 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from three and 70.0 percent from the line.

Preston led Ohio with 17 points, followed by Roderick with nine and Wilson III with eight. 

At the start of the second half, Buffalo cut Ohio's lead to 13 with a 7-0 run, however, the Bobcats were able to respond, pushing the lead back to 18 with 12:12 remaining in the game. However, another 8-0 run from the Bulls, pulled UB within 10 points of the Bobcats, but a three by Vander Plas stopped the run, putting Ohio back up 13. After the Bulls were once again able to cut the lead to 10, another three from Vander Plas struck down the run. The Bulls were never able to crack the Bobcats' defense during the remaining 10 minutes, never getting closer than within 12 points of the Bobcats lead. 

"My dad and my sister both played in the NCAA Tournament," Vander Plas said. "For the both of them, it's their greatest basketball memory. To be able to do it with this team, I'm just so excited."

Up next, the Bobcats head to Indianapolis, Ind. where the 2021 NCAA Tournament will take place. Ohio will find out their opponent on Sunday, March 14 at 6 p.m. on CBS. 

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