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TOLEDO, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (19-4, 10-2 MAC) returned to action Tuesday night, falling to Toledo (19-5, 11-2 MAC), 77-62, inside Savage Arena. 
 
"I thought they did a lot of same things, and we had a game plan coming in," head coach Jeff Boals said. "Initially it was tight after the first two wars. Got off a good start. And then I thought we were step slow late in the first half. We missed some shots that they turned into transition baskets. You can't give them easy baskets to transition. I thought we made a great run the second half. We start the second half and cut to five and got wide open threes and missed a couple layups. They're a good team. You got to make those opportunities. I think we were seven for 13 from the free throw line. And, you know, we kind of looked like it was game four and eight days a little bit."
 
Leading the Bobcats was senior guard Tommy Schmock (Cleveland, Ohio) with 17 points, going 6-of-12 from the field and 5-of-10 from three and grabbing four steals. Sophomore guard Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.) added 13 points, six rebounds and two assists, while junior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) scored 10 points. Redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) added eight points, eight rebounds and six assists.  
 
"It felt good to see some shots going, but obviously, we had stuff that we needed to take care of the first half, especially on the defensive end," Schmock said.
 
Ohio won the tip, but Toledo opened the game with the first five points. Once the Rockets went up five, Vander Plas drained a three and a layup from Roderick tied the game at 5-5. Ohio took their first lead of the game moments later with a three from redshirt fifth year forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio), however, Toledo tied the game with a three of their own, tying the game at 8-8 going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Toledo retook the lead before a three from Sears put Ohio up, 11-10. After Toledo went up three, a layup from junior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) and a free throw from Vander Plas tied the game at 14-14 with 12:36 to go in the half. 
 
Out of the media timeout, both teams traded baskets before UT took a four-point lead going into the next media timeout. Out of the timeout, baskets by Vander Plas and Carter were able to cut the UT lead back to four, however, the Rockets went on a 6-0 run to take a 12-point lead with 3:28 remaining in the game. After a three from Schmock and a jumper from Carter, the Bobcats were able to cut the Toledo lead to nine, however, a jumper at the end of the half put the Bobcats up 38-27 at the half. 
 
At the half, the Bobcats shot 38 percent from the field, 33 percent from three and were 1-of-5 from the line, while Toledo shot 62 percent from the field, 33 percent from three and were 4-of-5 from the line. UT outrebounded the Bobcats, 20-12, while Ohio dished out six assists to their five. 
 
Individually, Vander Plas led the Bobcats with eight points and four assists, while Carter added seven points. Sears added five points and five rebounds. 
 
To start the half, a three from Roderick and a layup from Sears was able to cut the Toledo lead to six with 18 minutes remaining, however, Toledo scored six-straight, taking a 46-34 lead, forcing Ohio to call a timeout. After the Rockets went up 16, a jumper from Roderick and a three from Sears brought the Bobcats bask within 11, however a three from UT out Toledo back up 53-39 with 12:12 remaining in the game. 
 
After a three from Schmock cut the Ohio deficit to 10, Toledo went back up 17 before another three from Schmock cut the UT lead to 60-46. However, the Rockets were able to hit a jumper, taking a 62-46 lead with 8:19 remaining in the game. After Toledo went up 65-49, Ohio cut the lad to 13. After another Toledo basket, Schmock drained another three to cut the Ohio deficit to 12 going into the final media timeout. 
 
Put of the timeout, five more points from Schmock – a three and a steal and a layup, cut the UT lead to 69-60 with 1:45 remaining in the game. The Bobcats were able to cut the Toledo lead to nine twice, however, free throws and a dunk from UT pushed the lead back to double digits, with the Bobcats falling, 77-62. 
 
For Toledo, Setric Milner Jr had 18 points, followed by JT Schumate with 17 and Ryan Rollins with 15.

Up next, the Bobcats remain on the road when they head to Mount Pleasant, Mich. on Thursday, Feb. 10 when they take on Central Michigan. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside McGurik Arena. 
 
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