The Ohio men's basketball team (3-1) returned to action Friday night in the second game of the Kentucky Classic, falling to No. 13 Kentucky (3-1), 77-59, inside Rupp Arena. Redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) led Ohio with 19 points.
Vander Plas finished the game with 19 points, six rebounds and went 9-of-15 from the field and 3-of-7 from three. Redshirt fifth year forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) finished with 15 points, five rebound and went 7-of-16 from the field. Sophomore guard Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.) wrapped up the game with 10 points and a team-leading five assists.
"He's [Vander Plas] a phenomenal person,"Boals said. "He graduated in three years, has his master's degree, and started another master's degree, first-team Academic All-American and the ultimate teammate. I love him to death. He is a big reason for where we are, what we're doing and what we did last year, and I think he does a great job of staying positive and keeping our guys together. He's a tough matchup for most people. I thought late in the game, they started switching everything which kind of stagnated us. In the first half, we got some good looks and post entries. In the second half they made some good adjustments, but he is an All-American person."
Overall, the Bobcats shot 36.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and 70 percent from the line, while UK shot 48.3 percent from the field, 18.8 percent from three and 94.1 percent from the line. The Bobcats were outrebounded 53-17, however, the Bobcats forced 15 Wildcat turnovers while only turning the ball over five times.
"I think we got some good looks, and we just didn't hit them," Boals said. "You know, Mark Sears, who's a phenomenal player and going to be a great player for us, got in the paint sometimes and their length, you can't stimulate their length and athleticism. But I thought the switching they did slowed us down from a patient space standpoint. I think it's a mixture of fatigue and what they did to us defensively. But, without looking at the second half I was happy with some of the looks we got."
Kentucky won the tip and took an early 2-0 lead with the first basket. However, the Bobcats responded seconds later when Carter drained a three to give the Bobcats an early lead. A layup from Sears and back-to-back layups from Carter put Ohio up seven with 16:41 left in the first half. About a minute later, a dunk from the Wildcats cut the Bobcats lead to 11-6 going into the first media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Kentucky cut the Ohio lead to two, but back-to-back threes from Vander Plan and junior guard Lunden McDay (Akron, Ohio), followed by a layup from Vander Plas gave the Bobcats a 20-12 lead with 12:14 left in the first half. Out of the timeout, Kentucky battled back, answering Ohio's layups with threes, tying the game at 24-24 entering the under-eight media timeout.
Kentucky took their first lead of the game with 6:27 left in the half. However, free throws from Sears and a deep contested three from Vander Plas gave Ohio the lead back. After Ohio and the Wildcats traded baskets over the next minute, another deep three from Vander Plas gave Ohio a four-point lead before a layup from Kentucky cut the Bobcats' lead to 38-36 with 3:14 left in the half.
Out of the final media timeout, Kentucky used free throws to take a 40-38 lead going into halftime.
At the half, Ohio shot 39 percent from the field, 42 percent from three and 70 percent from the line, while Kentucky shot 47 percent from the field, 20 percent from three and 91 percent from the line. Kentucky outrebounded the Bobcats, 26-11, while Ohio dished out five assists and forced eight UK turnovers, while only committing one.
Individually, Vander Plas scored 13 points and grabbed four boards, while Sears added 10 points and Carter scored nine with three rebounds.
Ohio came out and tied the game seconds into the second half, before taking a four-point lead thanks to back-to-back layups from Carter. However, Ohio and Kentucky traded baskets with the Wildcats taking a 48-46 lead with 14:31 left in the game. Carter tied the game at 48-48 out of the timeout, however, Kentucky went on a 9-0 run to take a 57-48 lead with 11:45 left, forcing Ohio to call a timeout.
Out of the timeout, two-straight threes from freshman forward AJ Clayton (Duncan Falls, Ohio) brought the Bobcats back within six. However, the Ohio defense was able to hold Kentucky off the board, as they extended their lead to 11 with 7:44 left in the game.
Ohio was unable to chip away at the Wildcats' lead over the final five minutes of action, ultimately falling 77-59.
For Kentucky, the were led by Keion Brooks, Jr. who has 22 points and eight rebounds, followed by TyTy Washington, Jr. with 20 points and 11 boards. The Bobcats held Oscar Tshiebwe to no points and 10 rebounds.
Up next, the Bobcats return to Athens for the final game of the Kentucky Classic on Monday, Nov. 22 when they take on Mount St. Mary's. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
