Carter finished the game with 18 points, going 6-of-14 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. He also grabbed five rebounds for the Bobcats.
Sophomore guard Teyvion Kirk finished with 11 points, going 5-of-13 from the field, while redshirt freshman forward Ben Vander Plas finished with 10 points, going 3-of-8 from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc. Senior forward Doug Taylor finished the game with seven points and a team-high six boards.
Kirk got the Bobcats on the board three minutes into the game before LMU would go on a 6-0 run to take a 9-2 lead at the 16-minute mark. Senior forward Doug Taylor would stop the run, scoring from under the net and then connecting on the free throw to make the game 9-4 in favor of the Lions.
A jumper by Vander Plas would cut the LMU lead to one with just over 12 minutes to go in the half. A made three-pointer from LMU's James Batemon would put the Lions up seven, however a layup from Kirk and two free throws from Carter would pull Ohio within three with just under eight minutes to go in the half.
The Bobcats and Lions would trade baskets throughout the remaining minutes of the half, however two made free throws by senior forward/guard Gavin Block with one second left would pull Ohio within three points again, sending the teams to the locker room with the Bobcats trailing, 27-24.
The Bobcats finished the first half shooting 30 percent (8-of-27) from the field and 67 percent (8-of-12) from the free throw line, while the Lions finished the half shooting 41 percent (11-of-27) from the field, 31 percent (4-of-13) from three-point range and 1-for-1 from the free throw line.
The Bobcats also outrebounded LMU, 19-17, grabbing seven offensive boards compared to the Lions' four. The Bobcats also scored 16 points in the paint compared to LMU's 12, and recorded four blocks to the Lions' one.
After an LMU jumper to take a five-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half, junior guard Antonio Cowart, Jr. would hit the Bobcats' first three of the game to make the score 29-27. After the Lions would go back up five, the Bobcats would go on a 5-0 run, capped by two free throws from Vander Plas, to tie the game at 32-32 with 14 minutes left in the second half.
Loyola Marymount would then go on a 7-0 run to take a 41-34 lead before Taylor would stop the run with a jumper to cut the lead to five. The Lions would then go on an 8-0 run to take a 13-point lead with 8:12 to go. Vander Plas would then drain back-to-back three-pointers to cut the LMU lead to 51-42 with 6:40 remaining.
The Lions would take a 14-point lead with 2:37 remaining, however, a layup from Carter would spark a run for the Bobcats that would see Ohio score 14 points over the remaining two minutes of play, including cutting the LMU lead to five with 18 seconds left after a steal and a layup from Kirk. However, LMU would hit their free throws down the stretch and would win by the final of 65-56.
Ohio finished the game shooting 34 percent (19-of-56), from the field 17 percent (4-of-24) from three-point range and 78 percent (14-of-18) from the free throw line. LMU finished shooting 48 (21-of-44) percent from the field, 33 percent (7-of-21) from beyond the arc and 89 percent (16-of-18) from the charity stripe.
Ohio grabbed 30 boards to LMU's 31, including grabbing 12 offense rebounds compared to LMU's five. Ohio recorded 12 steals to the Lions' four and dished out 12 assists. Ohio also scored 28 points in the paint compared to LMU's 24, while scoring 15 points off of 21 LMU turnover, while the Lions capitalized on 17 Ohio turnovers, scoring 19 points.
For Loyola Marymount, the Lions were led by Batemon who scored 16 points, going 5-of-11 from the field, 2-of-7 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Mattias Markusson finished with 12 points, going 4-of-6 from the field, while Cameron Allen added 10 points and Dameane Douglass grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Bobcats head back to Athens, Ohio following the Thanksgiving holiday to take on Austin Peay on Saturday, Nov. 24. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
(Courtesy of Ohio Athletics)