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Box Score (PDF)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The No. 13-seeded Ohio men's basketball team's magical run through March has come to an end, as the Bobcats (17-8) fell to No. 5-seeded Creighton (22-8), 72-58, Monday (March 22) inside Hinkle Fieldhouse in the NCAA Second Round. 

"Number one, congratulations to Creighton," head coach Jeff Boals said. "They're a very good team and well-coached, and I hope they continue this journey. I'm really proud of our guys. I thought they battled, competed. This is a special group, on and off the floor. The way the represented Ohio University. The way they represent their families, our basketball program. It's just a high-character group of guys. You hate to see something like this end the way that it ended, but that does not take away anything that they've done." 

Senior forward Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) led the Bobcats with 12 points, and nine rebounds, while also surpassing 1,000 career points. Sophomore guard Lunden McDay (Akron, Ohio) knocked down three three-pointers on his way to 11 points, while sophomore forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) scored 10 points. Junior guard Jason Preston (Orlando, Fla.) added four points but grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists, while redshirt junior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) grabbed 10 boards. 

"I'm going to remember how fun it was," Preston said. "I'm going to remember how fun it was every day. Every day, you come to practice and have fun, and that's rare. You want to play with one another, every guy is unselfish and they don't have egos. Some of these teams win, and I don't know if they really have fun doing it. Every day was a blast."   

As a team, Ohio shot 31.8 percent from the field and 23.3 percent from three, while Creighton shot 45 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three. 

Ohio out-rebounded the Bulejays, 44-39, but Creighton scored 34 points in the paint compared to Ohio's 24. 

The Bobcats opened the first half hot, scoring the game's first five points thanks to a layup from Wilson III and a three from Vander Plas. A couple layups from freshman forward Colin Granger (Suwanee, Ga.) and another one from Wilson III gave Ohio a five-point lead again. However, a 7-0 run from Creighton put the Bluejays up for the first time in the game. The Bobcats battled back, with Roderick draining back-to-back threes, However, a 16-2 run from the Bluejays over the final five minutes pushed Creighton ahead, 39-24, going into halftime.  

In the second half, Creighton pushed its lead to 21 points before the Bobcats' offense started to pick back up thanks to layups from freshman guard Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.), Preston and Wilson III. Free throws from Vander Plas then pulled the Bobcats within 13 with eight minutes to go. After Creighton once again went ahead by 18, back-to-back threes from McDay kept the Bobcats within reach at the under-four media timeout. 

Out of the timeout, a three and a free throw from Sears brought the Bobcats' within nine. However, the Bobcats were unable to get any closer than that, ultimately falling to the Bluejays to end their season.

"I love Ohio so much," Preston said. "I'm so thankful for the opportunity that I've been given here."

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