Ben Vander Plas paced himself as he walked off the court. The junior recorded his 1,000th career point only 30 minutes prior and he wanted to drink in the atmosphere. He looked up and around to see the small clusters of fans peppered throughout The Convo congratulating him.
All of sudden, he heard a familiar voice and turned his head toward Section 104. Mark Stickel, a de facto team minister for Ohio, stood and applauded. Ohio hadn’t seen much of Stickel due to restrictions this season.
As soon as he recognized Stickel, Vander Plas shot up his arm and pointed straight to the minister. If the two weren’t able to meet face-to-face, having Stickel there for a career milestone was the next best thing.
“We talk with him a lot but haven't been able to meet with him as much,“ Vander Plas said. “He's a great guy.”
In the post-game Zoom conference, however, Vander Plas glossed over his 1,000th career point. He talked about Dwight Wilson and the team’s season-high 30 assists, but little on himself.
The junior shrugged it off. He hadn’t even realized that he was close to 1,000 points until a few weeks prior, when Ohio’s trainer mentioned it off the cuff. One-thousand points is amazing, but not his end goal.
Vander Plas had bigger things on his mind — the Mid-American Conference Championship.
“Individual stuff, that's not the goal,“ Vander Plas said. “I'm going to take a little bit of time to appreciate it and celebrate it, but as soon as tomorrow hits it's back to trying to win a MAC championship.”
It’s a shared sentiment. The Bobcats want more, and they’ve waited three weeks to prove it.
In its second game in three days, Ohio blasted Eastern Michigan 86-67 on less than 48 hours rest from its surprise victory over Akron. Tuesday was a letter to the MAC that read Ohio wasn’t going to end the season lying down. Even without starters Jason Preston and Dwight Wilson III, the Bobcats pummeled the No. 2 team in the conference with an army of underclassmen.
On Thursday, that letter was signed, sealed and delivered.
Wilson and Preston were cleared to play just before warm ups, which put the Bobcats back at full strength to face the Eagles. Coach Jeff Boals has remarked several times that the Bobcats have lost only two games when playing with a full roster. That trend didn’t buck on Thursday.
The Bobcats were shooting with the confidence Coach Boals hammered into their heads before the five-day gauntlet of Akron, Eastern Michigan and Buffalo began. Field goals came natural. Vander Plas was 3-for-4 beyond the line, tied with Ben Roderick for the team-high.
Wilson, although absent from the starting lineup, played like he hadn’t missed a game. Wilson landed every single shot he attempted, which capped off at 16 points on seven field goals in 20 minutes on the court. The senior has been Ohio’s strongman in the paint this season and loves getting in the opponent’s face. He’s always one of the biggest men on the court and knows it.
“He has the greatest touch I have ever seen. Ever,“ Vander Plas said. “I don't know how he does it. Sometimes it looks like he just flicks it up to the rim but it's just cash, every time.”
On such a short rest period, a team can be sharp one day and lose it the next. Not Ohio. It played quick, confident and smart basketball.
Boals gives the credit to his players. In huddles, he never saw a drop in faith. The Eagles started out of the gate on a 5-0 run, but the Bobcats kept their heads. Within seven minutes, a 3-pointer from Vander Plas stole the lead and the Bobcats never looked back.
The coach has seen the best of his players this week. The doubt shrouding Ohio’s return has all but faded. Two blowout wins in the span of 48 hours is the prep work for the final stretch of the season. The MAC Tournament seedings will be announced on March 5, and Boals wants to be on a hot streak for Ohio’s first game in Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
“This is going to sound so coach cliché,” Boals said. “But we're taking it one day at a time and one game at a time. I think that's why we've been able to do what we've been able to do ... We’ve got to continue to do our part.”
