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AKRON, Ohio – Trailing by one with three minutes to go, redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) drained a three and the Ohio defense stepped up over the final two minutes of play to lead the Ohio men's basketball team (11-2, 2-0 MAC) to a thrilling 69-63 victory on the Road at Akron (8-4, 1-1 MAC) Tuesday night inside James A. Rhodes Arena. The victory was head coach Jeff Boals' 100^th career victory. 
 
The Bobcats also stretch their winning streak to six games. 
 
"A great road win for our guys coming off the Western Michigan game ," Boals said. "Anytime you can win on the road in the MAC is a great win. Great atmosphere. Akron's a very good team and they were down one of their better players. But, we always talk about bend but don't break and our guys did that." 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and were 9-of-10 from the line, while Akron shot 39.3 percent from the field, 37 percent from three and were 9-of-17 from the line. Ohio outrebounded Akron, 34-33, while the Bobcats dished out 12 assists to Akron's 11, while both teams turned the ball over 10 times and recorded four steals. 
 
Individually, sophomore guard Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala) led all scorers with 24 points, going 8-of-14 from the field, 2-of-4 from three and 6-of-6 from the line. Sears also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and dished out five assists in 38 minutes. Fifth year forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) added 19 points and three rebounds, while Vander Plas added 11 points, six boards and four assists. 
 
Akron won the tip, but the Bobcats opened the game with the first seven points, with the scoring starting with a three and layup from Carter, followed by a layup from Vander Plas, giving Ohio a 7-0 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Ohio held Akron scoreless until 14:39 left in the first half, with a jumper to cut the Ohio score to 7-2. 
 
Ohio took a 9-2 lead before Akron went on a 5-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to 9-7. However, a three and a layup from Sears stopped the Zips run, giving Ohio a 14-7 lead going into the next media timeout. Out of the timeout, both teams traded baskets, with Carter hitting a free throw and sophomore forward Sam Towns (Columbus, Ohio) with a tip-in off an offensive rebound, increasing Ohio's lead to 17-11 at the under-eight media timeout. 
 
After the Zips cut the Ohio lead to three, two-straight threes from Sears and another three from Carter increased the Ohio lead to 26-17 with 3:40 left in the half. After an Akron three to cut the Ohio lead to six, Ohio went on a 7-0 run to increase their lead to 13 with 1:09 left in the half. However, Akron hit a three at the buzzer, sending the game to halftime with Ohio leading, 33-23. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 48.1 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from three and were 2-of-3 from the line, while Akron shot 32.1 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from three and were 0-of-3 from the line. Ohio outrebounded the Zips, 21-16, while Ohio dished out seven assists and forced seven turnovers. 
 
Individually, Sears led the Bobcats at the half with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists, while Carter added 11 points, three rebounds and one block. Vander Plas added four points, followed by senior guard Tommy Schmock (Cleveland, Ohio) with three. 
 
The Bobcats got the first points of the second half on a driving layup form Carter, however, Akron countered with a three. After junior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) countered with a three of his own, Akron went on a 7-0 run to cut the Bobcats' lead to 38-33 with 17:24 remaining. Two Vander Plas free throws and a driving layup from Carter stopped the Zips' run, giving the Bobcats a 42-33 lead going into the first media timeout of the half.
 
Out of the timeout, two free throws from Sears and a three from junior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) gave the Bobcats a 47-33 lead, before a three and a layup from Akron stopped the Ohio run. The Bobcats then went on a 6-0 run to take a 53-39 lead, forcing Akron to burn a timeout. Out of the timeout, Akron went on a 7-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to 53-46. However, after an and-one opportunity for Sears, Akron head coach John Groce was assessed a technical foul, allowing Sears to drain three from the line to give Ohio a 58-46 lead. However, Akron countered with a layup, cutting the Ohio lead to 10 with 7:45 left in the game. 
 
Out of the timeout, Akron went on a 14-2 run, aided by four free throws, a technical assessed to Boals and a three pointer to tie the game at 60-60 with 4:41 left in the game. Akron took its first lead of the game on a free throw with 3:02 left, however, Vander Plas countered with his first three of the game to put Ohio up 63-61 with 2:32 left in the game. 
 
After Akron tied the game at 63-63, back-to-back driving layups from Sears and Roderick and a thundering dunk from Carter sealed the 69-63 victory for the Bobcats on the road. 
 
"I thought we made the plays when we needed to," Boals said. "Our guys were very poised. The last four-minute war we talked about finishing and you know, Ben Vander Plas had a huge three, and what can you say about Mark Sears? I mean, just another phenomenal performance by him."
 
For Akron, Ali Ali scored 22 points, while Mikal Dawson added 14 points and Enrique Freeman snagged 10 boards. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats return to Athens for a quick turn around when they take the court Friday, Jan. 7 to take on Kent State. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on CBS Sports Network. 
 
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