It was the Bobcats’ first four-overtime contest . . .
Junior guard Jordan Dartis made a career-high eight field goals -- including four triples -- to finish with 21 points. He also tied his career high with seven rebounds and added two assists and a steal in 54 minutes.
Freshman guard Teyvion Kirk totaled a career-high 20 points off of a 7-of-16 shooting effort from the field and a 6-of-7 performance from the free throw line. He also grabbed a career-high six boards, totaled a career-high four steals and dished out a team-high four assists in 50 minutes of work.
Junior guard/forward Gavin Block notched nine points, four rebounds and three assists in 54 minutes. Junior forward Doug Taylor recorded a career-high 15 rebounds to go along with seven points, two assists and a team-high three blocks over 45 minutes.
Redshirt sophomore guard James Gollon contributed seven points, a career-high six boards, an assist and a steal in 28 minutes off of the bench.
The Bobcats were forced to overcome a rough opening 20 minutes of the game in which Ohio managed only 24 points off 32.1 percent shooting (9-of-28) from the field -- including just 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from beyond the arc.
Ohio committed seven turnovers and had five shots blocked by the Sycamores. Ohio faced a 16-point halftime deficit and trailed by as many as 18 with 1:40 to go in the first half.
Ohio came out of the locker room with renewed energy, though, and outscored Indiana State by a 39-23 count in the second half. Laster led the way with an 18-point effort while Dartis added 10 points.
A jumper by Laster with just over six minutes to play evened the score at 57-all and capped a 22-5 run by the Bobcats. Indiana State went back up by four with 2:42 to go after a layup by freshman guard Tyreke Key made it 63-59 in favor of the Sycamores.
Laster drew a foul 22 seconds later and made both free throws to make it a two-point game, then tied it at 63-all with 59 seconds left after drawing another foul and converting both of his freebies. Dartis missed a three with six seconds left, sending the contest to overtime.
The Bobcats took a 66-63 lead on a trey by Block at the 3:33 mark in the first overtime, but jumpers by graduate guard Qiydar Davis and senior guard Brenton Scott gave the Sycamores a 67-66 edge with less than a minute remaning.
Dartis knocked down a jumper with 36 seconds to play, but junior forward Devin Thomas made the second of two free throw attempts with 17 seconds lft knot the score again.
Ohio again had a chance to pull out the win, but a layup attempt by Block and a tip-in attempt by Taylor both rattled out, forcing a second overtime.
It appeared as though Ohio's comeback bid would fall short in the second overtime as Indiana State went on a 9-0 run capped by a triple by Key to snatch a 77-68 lead with 1:28 left. The Bobcats refused to give in, though, and went on a 13-4 run in the final 40 seconds.
A layup by Laster, an and-one layup by Kirk, two more free throws by Kirk and a triple by Dartis made it a two-point affair at 80-78 with 23 seconds left. Sophomore guard Jordan Barnes made the second of two free throws with 20 seconds left to extend Indiana State's lead to 81-78, but Block saved the Bobcats by knocking down a three with 13 seconds remaining to tie it back up. A jumper by Barnes at the buzzer was off the mark, and the teams headed to a third overtime.
Senior center Brandon Murphy put Indiana State back up by three with 3:26 to go in the third overtime after a dunk and a made free throw over a minute later. Kirk answered back for Ohio with a layup with less than two minutes to go and a made free throw with just over a minute remaining to tie the score at 84-all.
A pair of free throws by Thomas with 50 seconds left made it 86-84 in favor of Indiana State, but Kirk tied it up once again with a layup seven seconds later. The Bobcats then forced a turnover by the Sycamores to set up a shot at a victory, but Kirk missed a jumper with five seconds left and a fourth overtime was needed to decide the game.
Two made free throws by Davis helped give Indiana State a three-point lead at 91-88 with 2:44 to play, but Dartis answered on Ohio's next possession by banging home a three. A layup by Laster with 1:35 left put Ohio in front, 93-91.
Sophomore guard Trey Knight III drew a foul with 1:11 to go but only made the second of his two free throw attempts, allowing the Bobcats to cling to a one-point edge. Block responded on the next possession, though, with an and-one layup to make it 96-92 in favor of Ohio with 45 seconds remaining.
Davis hit a jump shot to cut the Bobcats' lead back to two with 36 seconds to go. Scott attempted to give Indiana State the win with a three-point attempt at the buzzer, but his try was off the mark and Ohio sealed the wild win.
Kirk came up big for Ohio late, scoring a combined 12 points over the final three overtimes to help the Bobcats clinch the win.
Thomas led the way for Indiana State with 17 points and also notched a game-high five blocks, four rebounds and an assist in 28 minutes. Barnes contributed 16 points and a game-high six assists to go along with five rebounds and two steals in 52 minutes.
Davis achieved a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 15 rebounds to go along with two blocks and an assist in 50 minutes. Key scored 14 points off the the bench and also chipped in seven rebounds, two steals and an assist over 39 minutes.
Scott logged 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals in 52 minutes. Junior center Emondre Rickman totaled 10 points, two blocks and a rebound over 19 minuts of work off the bench.
Ohio returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center on Friday (Nov. 24) to play host to Mount St. Mary's in a 7 p.m. ET matchup.