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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Ohio men's basketball team (20-4, 11-2 MAC) picked up its 20^th win of the season Thursday evening (Feb. 12), defeating Central Michigan (6-15, 5-5 MAC), 81-72, inside McGurik Arena. 
 
It is the first time since the 2015-16 season that the Bobcats have reached at least 20 wins. 
 
"Great road win for our guys," head coach Jeff Boals said. "Very resilient group. Not the best first half, but a really, really good response in the second half. I thought we did a great job moving the basketball took care of the basketball a lot better in the second half. And it's a great road win for our team."
 
Individually, redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) led Ohio with 24 points, going 9-of-15 from the field, 2-of-5 from three and dished out six assists. Sophomore guard Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.) added 22 points, going 5-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from three, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. Senior guard Tommy Schmock (Cleveland, Ohio) scored 16 points, while junior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) grabbed seven rebounds. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 49.1 percent from the field, 48 percent from three and were 17-of-26 from the line. Meanwhile, CMU shot 41.4 percent from the field, 20.8 percent from three and were 19-of-2 from the line. CMU outrebounded Ohio 38-28, while the Bobcats dished out 14 assists and forced 19 turnovers.
 
"They came out and they had a lot of energy," Vander Plas said. "They were playing really well. They are a good team. That's a really good team. We were struggling in the first half to put the ball in the hole little bit, but we went to the second half and just kind of went back to trying to have fun playing basketball. It's as simple as that. Came out and a lot of guys were having fun during warmups and there were smiles on people's faces and just playing hard the rest of the game. I think that's what got done."
 
CMU won the tip, but the Bobcats got on the board first with a layup from redshirt fifth year forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio). After CMU took a 4-2 lead, a layup from Carter tied the game at 4-4. After Schmock hit a three to put Ohio up, 7-6, a jumper from CMU cut the Ohio lead to 7-6 going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, CMU took an 8-7 lead on two free throws, however, back-to-back threes from Sears and layups from Vander Plas and freshman forward IJ Ezuma (Raleigh, N.C.) helped put the Bobcats up 17-15 with 10:41 left in the half. The Bobcats and CMU traded baskets out of the timeout, with CMU taking a 21-19 lead going into the under-eight media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, Ohio took a 23-21 lead before CMU when on a 6-0 run to take a 27-23 lead going into the under-four media timeout. The Bobcats cut the CMU lead to 27-25 before CMU went back up four. With just over a minute to go, Roderick drained a three, cutting the CMU lead to 29-28 going into the half. 
 
At the half, the Bobcats shot 24.9 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and were 0-1 from the line, while CMU shot 40 percent from the field, were 1-of-10 from three and 8-of-8 from the line. Both teams grabbed 15 rebounds, while Ohio dished out six assists to their four. Both teams had trouble handling the ball, with Ohio turning the ball over 10 time, while CMU turned it over nine times. 
 
Individually, Sears had eight points, followed by Vander Plas with six points, while Roderick led with four rebounds. 
 
CMU went up 34-28 to start the half, however, back-to-back threes from Sears and Vander Plas tied the game at 34-34 with 16:53 left in the game. Then back-to-back strong layups from Roderick and Vander Plas increased the Ohio lead to 38-34 going into the first media timeout. After the CMU bench was called for a technical, Sears increased Ohio's lead to 39-34. After CMU cut the Ohio lead to three, another Vander Plas three put the Bobcats up 42-36. CMU then cut the Ohio lead to two points, however threes from Schmock and freshman guard Olumide Adelodun (Calgary, Canada) put the Bobcats up eight with 11:34 left in the game.  
 
The Bobcats took a 10-point lead after a Vander Plas layup with 10:45 left in the game. After CMU cut the Ohio lead to 52-45. Free throws from Vander Plas brought the Ohio lead back to nine. After a CMU layup, another layup from Schmock gave Ohio a 56-47 lead going into the media timeout. After CMU cut the Ohio lead back to six, back-to-back threes from Sears and Schmock put Ohio back up nine, before free throws from Vander Plas increased the Ohio lead to 64-54 with 3:37 left in the game. 
 
Out of the timeout, two free throws from Sears and a three from Schmock put the Bobcats up 11 with 2:32 remaining in the game. Over the remaining two minutes, the Bobcats and CMU traded free throws, with Ohio sealing the 81-72 victory. 
 
For CMU, Kevin Miller led all scorers with 25 points, while Harrison Henderson added 16 points and Brian Taylor scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats close out their three-game road trip when they head to Ypsilanti, Mich. to take on Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 12. Tip-off is set for 3:30. p.m. inside the EMU Convocation Center. 
 
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