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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Down by one as time wound down, Ohio sophomore guard Mark Sears took the ball and connected on a layup as time expired, sealing the Ohio men's basketball team's (25-9) victory over Rice (16-17) in the First Round of the 2022 Roman College Basketball Invitational Saturday night inside the Daytona Beach Ocean Center in Dayton Beach, Fla. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 39 percent from the field, 18 percent from three and were 11-of-15 from the line, while Rice shot 46 percent from the field, 24 percent from three and were 4-of-5 from the line. Rice outrebounded the Bobcats, 41-32, who Ohio registered 10 steals to Rice's four. 
 
Redshirt fifth year Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) led Ohio with 26 points, going 11-of-19 from the field, while grabbing 12 rebounds. Redshirt senior Ben Vander Plas (Ripon, Wis.) added 13 points and six rebounds, while Sears (Muscle Shoals, Ala.) scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out three assists. Junior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) added eight points. 
 
Rice won the opening tip, but the Bobcats got off to an early 6-0 lead, with layups coming from Carter and Brown. The Owls were able to get on the board with a jumper, but the Bobcats defense helped take a 6-2 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, junior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) hit three free throws to put the Bobcats up 9-2, before Rice cut the lead back to nine. After a layup from freshman forward AJ Clayton (Duncan Falls, Ohio), Roderick drained a three to put the Bobcats up, 14-4 with 11:45 remaining in the first half. 
 
Out of the timeout, a three from Clayton put the Bobcats up 17-4. After Rice cut the Bobcats lead to 11, a layup from Carter put Ohio back up 13, before a jumper from the Owls cut the Ohio lead to 19-8 with 7:40 remaining in the first half. Out of the timeout, Rice went on an 8-2 run to cut the Ohio lead to 21-16 with 5:37 remaining in the half. After a three-point play from Carter put Ohio back up eight, back-to-back layups from Rice cut the Ohio lead to four going into the final media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, Rice tied the game at 24-24 before a free throw from Vander Plas put Ohio back up one. After Rice took its first lead of the game on a jumper, a driving layup from Vander Plas put Ohio up 27-26 going into halftime. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 36 percent from the field and were 2-of-10 from three, while going 5-of-8 from the line. Rice shot 46 percent from the field, went 2-of-8 from three and were 2-of-2 from the line. Rice outrebounded Ohio 19-13, while Ohio forced 10 Rice turnovers. 
 
Individually, Carter led all scorers with 11 points and three rebounds, while Brown and Clayton added five points, and Vander Plas led with five rebounds. 
 
The Bobcats opened the second half with four-straight points from Carter and Roderick to take a five-point lead. However, Rice responded immediately, cutting the lead back to one.  After Ohio took a four-point lead, a jumper from Rice cut the lead to two, however, two free throws from Carter gave the Bobcats a 36-32 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Carter put Ohio back up six. After the Owls responded, Sears hit a jumper to give Ohio the Bobcats to 40-36 lead. After that, Carter and Rice traded baskets, giving Ohio a six-point lead with 12:52 left in the game. 
 
Out of the timeout, Vander Plas drained a three, putting Ohio up nine with 10:39 remaining in the game. After a Rice three cut the Ohio lead back to six, a Vander Plas layup gave Ohio a 49-41 lead with 7:50 remaining in the game. A jumper from Sears put Ohio up nine before a Rice layup cut the lead back to seven. Moments later, a three from Roderick gave Ohio a 10-point lead. After Rice went on a five-point run to cut the lead to five, a layup from Carter put Ohio back up seven. After Rice cut the lead to two, a layup from Vander Plas gave Ohio a four-point lead with 2:50 remaining in the game. 
 
Out of the timeout, Vander Plas hit a free throw to give Ohio a five-point lead. However, Rice went on a 4-0 run to cut the. Lead to one with 1:41 remaining in the game. After Rice took a one-point lead with 1:05 left, Ohio responded with a jumper from Sears to give Ohio the 61-60 lead with 38 seconds remaining. 
 
After a defensive stop from senior guard Tommy Schmock (Cleveland, Ohio) that forced a Rice turnover, Vander Plas out Ohio up three with two free throws. After the free throws, Rice hit a layup, cutting the Ohio lead to 63-62 with 8.5 seconds remaining. After Carter turned the ball over on an inbounds, Rice took a 64-63 lead on a layup with six seconds to go. Then as time ran down, Sears took the ball and sprinted to the hoop, passing connecting on the layup as time expired, sealing the 65-54 victory and keeping the Ohio season 
 
Leading Rice was Carl Pierre, who scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Travis Evee added 12 points, while Chris Mullins added 11 points and five assists. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats will take on the winning of Troy and Abilene Christian on Monday, March 21. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and will be seen FloHoops.
 
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