Ohio continued its dominant home stand when it defeated St. Francis 78-75 in The Convo on Saturday for its fifth straight win at home.
The Bobcats (6-2) were hampered by turnovers and foul trouble but scraped together a performance to outlast the Red Flash. Mark Sears continued his dominance on the court, and a handful of off-the-bench players made an impact.
Here are a few quick reactions to Ohio’s win over St. Francis:
Off-the-bench contributions
For much of its nonconference schedule, Ohio’s relied largely on its starting five for its offensive production. But against St. Francis, it let its bench players take the reins in the first half. Tommy Schmock and Sam Towns, who both averaged under four points per game before Saturday, outscored every Ohio starter aside from Sears in the first half.
Schmock and Towns have been two of the most consistent bench players for Ohio this season, and it showed against St. Francis.
Turnovers
Ohio turned the ball over 14 times in the first half, which St. Francis converted into 14 points. In its loss to LSU on Wednesday, Ohio allowed 12 turnovers all game. While it managed to clean up its performance with just four turnovers in the second half, the points St. Francis scored kept the game tighter than Ohio preferred.
Sears continuing to lead
The sophomore has asserted himself as one of , if not the dominant player on the court for the Bobcats this season. Saturday was no different. Sears led the Bobcats in points, rebounds and steals, and finished the game with 24 points. His performance Saturday was the second time this season in which he scored 20 points or more.
Sears’ shooting was nothing to scoff at, either. He was 9-of-14 shooting from the field and made both of his 3-point attempts. The guard is in his first season as a regular starter, and he’s lived up to the expectations that a starting spot brings.
