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YPSILANTI, Mich. – Led by the first career double double from junior guard Miles Brown and 27 points from sophomore guard Mark Sears, the Ohio men's basketball team (21-4, 12-2 MAC) wrapped up its three-game road trip with a 74-56 victory at Eastern Michigan (8-16, 3-10 MAC) Saturday afternoon (Feb. 12). The win clinched the Bobcats a spot in Cleveland for the 2022 MAC Tournament. 
 
"It was a game of two halves," head coach Jeff Boals said. "Both teams got off to a slow start. I think we were down 10 at the last media timeout. Very similar to Central Michigan where we were a step slow on things and out energy level on the defensive end wasn't where it needed to be to win the game. We talked about the same things. Give our guys credit, the defensive intensity the last five minutes of the first half was really good and it carried over the second half. I think we got seven offensive rebounds in the second half, which was an emphasis at halftime to make some adjustments." 
 
Leading Ohio was Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.) with 27 points, going 9-of-18 from the field, 2-of-5 from the and 7-of-7 from the line. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists. Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) finished the day with 15 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double double. Junior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) finished with nine points, while redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) finished with seven points and five boards. 
 
"I have to give the credit to my teammates, especially the bigs," Brown said. "They did a great job boxing out and I was able to execute and get the rebound. So we just had a lot of fun tonight. As you said, we started off kind of slow in the first half. So the momentum in the second half kicked in and we were just able to have fun."
 
Overall, Ohio shot 42.6 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from three and were 13-of-19 from the line, while EMU shot 38.9 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from three and were 8-of-16 from the line. Ohio outrebounded EMU, 39-38, while Ohio dished out 10 assists to their six. The Bobcats also forced 15 EMU turnovers and scored 17 points off them. 
 
The Bobcats won the tip but EMU got on the board first with a jumper. A layup from redshirt fifth year forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) tied the game at 2-2 before a free throw from Roderick gave the Bobcats a 3-2 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, a layup from Cater gave the Bobcats a 5-2 lead before a three from EMU tied the game at 5-5. Layup from freshman forward IJ Ezuma (Raleigh, N.C.) and Sears gave the Bobcats the lead back, but a three and a jumper from EMU out the Eagles up 10-9 with 10:18 left in the half. 
 
Out of the timeout, the Eagles went up 12-9 before a three from Brown tied the game at 12-12. After that, EMU went on an 11-2 run to take a 23-14 lead, forcing an Ohio timeout with 6:42 left in the first half. EMU continued their run, taking a 29-14 lead before a made three and two free throws from Brown stopped the run and cutting the Ohio deficit to 10 with four minutes left in the half. Out of the timeout a three from Sears cut the EMU lead to seven. After the Eagles countered with two layups, three free throws from the Bobcats cut the EMU lead to 33-25 going into halftime. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 32 percent from the field, 23.1 percent from three and were 6-of-12 from the free throw line, while EMU shot 46.2 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from three and were 4-of-6 from the line. EMU outrebounded the Bobcats, 22-14, and dished out five assists to Ohio's four. 
 
Individually, Brown led at the half with 10 points and five rebounds, while Sears scored seven points and had three rebounds. 
 
The Bobcats opened the second half with the first points with a jumper from Brown. Then with the help of layups from Ezuma and Sears, the Bobcats were able to cut the Eastern Michigan lead to 37-33 with 15:31 left in the game. Out of the timeout, the Bobcats caught fire, with two layups from Vander Plas tying the game at 37-37 before a three from senior guard Tommy Schmock (Cleveland, Ohio) gave the Bobcats a 40-37 lead, forcing EMU to burn a timeout with 13:30 remaining in the game. Out of the timeout, Sears drained another three to give Ohio a 43-37 lead going into the under-12 media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, EMU hit a three to cut the Ohio lead to three, but a layup from Vander Plas and five-straight points from Sears gave the Bobcats a 10-point lead, forcing EMU to call another timeout. Out of the timeout, a jumper from Eastern stopped the Ohio run, however Ohio countered with a three from freshman forward AJ Clayton (Duncan Falls, Ohio) to give Ohio a 53-42 lead with 7:55 left in the game. 
 
Out of the timeout, the Bobcats continued their run, with six-straight points from Sears to increase Ohio's lead to 59-45 with 5:06 remaining. After The Bobcats were assessed a technical, EMU cut the Ohio lead to 59-47 before another three from Brown increased Ohio's lead to 62-47 going into the final media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, two threes and two free throws helped the Bobcats go up 72-54 with 1:16 to go in the game. The Bobcats would close out the final minute of the game, sealing the 74-56 victory.  
 
For EMU, Darion Spottsville led the Eagles with 12 points, followed by Luka Savicevic with 11 points and Bryce McBride with 10. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats return to Athens on Tuesday, Feb. 15 when they host Miami. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. 
 
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