FOLLOW OHIO MEN'S BASKETBALL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A late comeback effort by Ohio (24-9) fell short on Friday night (March 11), as the Bobcats bowed out of the 2022 MAC Tournament in the semifinal round. Ohio lost to Kent State (23-9) by a score of 67-61.

"One of the funnest years I've had in 27 years of coaching, and it's because of the character of these young men on the court and off the court," said head coach Jeff Boals postgame. "the trust and belief that they've had in each other. They've been through a lot this year ... good and bad. Second most regular season wins in school history, and just disappointed that we can't coach these guys another day."
 
Overall, the Bobcats shot 40.4% from the field, 33.3% from beyond the arc, and 62.5% from the free throw line. Kent State finished the game having shot 45.6% overall, 35.3% from three, and 69.2% from the charity stripe. 

"I'm proud of our guys fighting back to it, down two with a couple minutes to go, I thought we just needed to get those one or two stops," added Boals. "Our guys gave everything they had. They battled. Tommy Schmock had a 103 temperature, was throwing up, he gave us everything he had. When you fight that hard to get back into it, you got to make those plays and find a way."
 
Ohio was led on offense Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) and Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.). Vander Plas scored a team-high 20 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field, while Sears played all 40 minutes and finished with 15 points. Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) was the team's leading rebounder, grabbing seven total boards. 
 
Ohio won the tip, but Kent State got off to an early 7-0 lead. Vander Plas then got the Bobcats on the board with a three, before a jumper and a three from Brown gave Ohio an 8-7 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Kent State took a 10-8 lead on a three, however, back-to-back layups from Vander Plas and Carter put the Bobcats up 12-10. Following the two layups, a three from Tommy Schmock (Cleveland, Ohio) gave Ohio a five-point lead. However, back-to-back jumper from the Flashes cut the Ohio lead to one with 10:57 remaining in the first half. 
 
Out of the timeout, Kent State went to take a 22-15 lead, forcing the Bobcats to burn a timeout with 8:23 remaining the half. After Kent State took a 10-point lead, a layup from Vander Plas cut the Ohio deficit back to single digits. Moments later, Kent State went up 27-17, however, two free throws from Sears cut the Flashes lead to 27-19 with 3:49 remaining in the half. 
 
After Vander Plas helped cut the Ohio deficit to 27-23 with 1:42 remaining in the half, Kent State went on a 4-0 run to close out the half, taking a 31-23 lead into the half.
 
At the half, Ohio shot 33.3 percent from the field, 23.1 percent from three and were 4-of-7 from the line, while Kent State shot 46.4 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from three and were 2-of-3 from the line. Kent State outrebounded Ohio 21-13, while the Flashes dished out six assists to Ohio's two. 
 
Individually, Vander Plas led Ohio with 11 points, going 4-of-6 from the field and grabbing two boards, while Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) added five points and Carter grabbed a team-leading five rebounds.
 
After the Bobcats opened the second half with four-straight points from Carter and Roderick to cut the Kent State lead to 31-27, Kent State went on a 6-0 run to take a 10-point lead going into the first media timeout. A jumper from Sears brough Ohio within eight, however a three from Kent State gave the Flashes an 11-point lead. However, Schmock countered the three with one of his own, but Kent State extended its lead to 45-33 with 11:23 remaining in the game. 
 
Out of the timeout, four points from Carter helped bring the Bobcats within 12, however another three from Kent State gave the Flashes a 15-point lead. However, Sears countered with a trey of his own, cutting the Kent State lead to 52-40 with 8:14 remaining in the game. 
 
Out of the timeout, Kent State was assessed a flagrant one foul, allowing Carter to hit two free throw to cut the Ohio deficit to 10. After Sears hit two free throws, he received the ball from a defensive rebound after a Carter block and drained a three to bring the Bobcats within four with 5:45 remaining in the game. After two free throws from Vander Plas cut the lead to four, a three from Kent State gave the Flashes a seven-point lead. However, a thundering dunk from Vander Plas and a corner three from Brown cut the Kent State lead to two with just under three minutes remaining. 
 
Ohio was unable to get any closer however, as the Golden Flashes responded by stretching their lead back to seven points, 63-56, with just under a minute to play before eventually going on to wrap up the 67-61 victory.
 
Kent State was led by Malique Jacobs, who recorded a double-double with team-highs in points (19) and rebounds (10). 

#OUohyeah