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ATHENS, Ohio – Helped by a career night from beyond the arc from redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.), the Ohio men's basketball team (12-2, 3-0 MAC) extended its winning streak to seven games when they defeated Kent State (7-7, 2-2 MAC), 80-72, Friday night inside the Convocation Center. 
 
"I thought our guys got off to a great start and maintained the lead throughout the whole course of the game," head coach Jeff Boals said. "We've let teams back into it. We bend but don't break. We made some big plays down the stretch, and you know, Mark Sears was phenomenal again and BVP's threes carried us in the first half. Everyone who played contributed in some type of way and you know without Miles Brown in there, who is one of our best on ball defenders. Tommy Schmock came in and played more minutes than he's played all year and did a really good job with that. So just happy we won the game."
 
Leading the Bobcats was sophomore guard Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.) who scored 28 points, went 9-of-15 from the field, 9-of-10 from the line, grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists. It was Sears' fifth-straight game of 20-plus points. Vander Plas added 20, hitting a career-high six made threes, grabbing six boards, and dishing out a team-high five assists. Junior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) added 13 points, five rebounds and two assists, while fifth-year forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) added 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals. 
 
"It's been a rough couple of games," Vander Plas said. "A little bit of a drought, but I kept shooting and everyone else told me to keep shooting. They were falling tonight so it felt good to see some go through the hoop."


 
Overall, Ohio shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and were 20-of-23 from the line, while Kent State shot 38.5 percent from the field, 23.5 percent from three and were 18-of-23 from the line, Kent State outrebounded the Bobcats, 34-33, while Ohio dished out 11 assists to their nine. 
 
Kent State won the tip and got on the board first with a jumper. Vander Plas matched it with a three, before another Kent State bucket out the Flashes up 4-3. However, senior guard Tommy Schmock (Cleveland, Ohio), in his first start at Ohio, drained a three of his own to give Ohio a 6-4 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bobcats went on an 11-4 run with two threes from Vander Plas and a three and a layup from Roderick, forcing Kent State to burn a timeout with 12:54 left in the half and Ohio leading 17-8. 
 
Out of the timeout, another three from Vander Plas and a layup from Sears gave Ohio a 22-12 lead, before back-to-back layups from Kent State cut the Ohio lead to eight going into the under-12 media timeout. After Kent State cut the Ohio lead to seven, two free throws from Schmock and a jumper from Carter put the Bobcats up 11 with 8:22 left in the half. 
 
Out of the timeout, Kent State cut the Ohio lead to nine, but six points from Sears helped increase the Ohio lead to 34-21 entering the final media timeout of the half. After two free throws from Carter and another three from Vander Plas, the Bobcats took a 39-21 lead with 1:49 left in the half. After the Bobcats went up 18, the Flashes finished the half on a 5-2 run to cut the Ohio lead to 41-26 going into halftime. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 48 percent from the field, 41 percent from three and were 8-of-8 from the line, while Kent State shot 29 percent from the field, were 0-6 from three and were 6-of-8 from the line. Both teams recorded 19 rebounds, while Ohio dished out six assists to Kent State's one. 
 
Individually, Vander Plas led with 15 points, going 5-of-6 from three, while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists. Sears added 10 points, two rebound and two assists, while Roderick and Schmock both had five points. 


 
Kent State opened the half with the first points, however, Vander Plas countered with his sixth three of the night – a new career high- putting Ohio up 44-28. After a Sears layup put the Bobcats up 18, an 8-0 run from Kent State cut the Ohio lead to 10 with 15:03 remaining in the game. Sears stopped the run with another layup, putting Ohio up 12 entering the first media timeout. 
 
After the Bobcats went back up 15 out of the timeout, a three from Kent State cut the lead to 52-40 before the Flashes called a timeout with 12 minutes to go. After a dunk by freshman forward AJ Clayton (Duncan Falls, Ohio), Kent State cut the Ohio lead to 10. Sears then went on to score Ohio's next seven points, including a three, helping put Ohio up 61-50 with 8:01 remaining in the game. 
 
After a layup from Roderick put Ohio back up 13, Kent State went on a 9-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to five with 4:37 remaining in the game. After Kent State drained another three cut the lead to two, Sears responded with a layup, giving Ohio a four-point cushion going into the final media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, Kent State once again cut the lead to two with two made free throws, however, on the next possession, Roderick drained another clutch late-game three to give the Bobcats a five-point lead. Moments later, Carter registered a block on the defensive end and immediately turned it into two points, putting Ohio up 70-63 and help seal the game. 
 
Down the stretch, the Flashes were never able to get closer than five points, with Ohio hitting 10 free throws to secure the 80-72 victory.
 
For Kent State, Sincere Carry scored 26 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Malique Jacobs added 16 points and eight boards. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats remain in Athens on Tuesday, Jan. 11 when they host Bowling Green. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. 
 
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