ATHENS, Ohio - The Purdue Northwest Men's Basketball team hit the road for their second exhibition contest of the season on Thursday, and headed into the halftime break leading the host Ohio Bobcats before dropping the contest 92-72.

"We're finding out we have some great competitors in our locker room," PNW Head Coach Boomer Roberts said after his team's exhibition loss. "Ohio just beat another DI team by 55, and lost to Illinois by two, so we recognized how good they were. But our guys played fearlessly again, sharing the ball, competing on the glass, and executing our game plan. We led at half, and it was a two point game with nine minutes to go. We lost a little of our defensive edge in the last few minutes when our shots weren't falling, and we learned that we cannot do that against a very good team. Credit Ohio, who turned it up down the stretch."

The Pride, who took the game with Ohio on short notice after one of the Bobcats' scheduled opponents was unable to play due to Covid-19, battled their second straight MAC team after playing Bowling Green last week. The first half saw nine lead changes before PNW used a 13-4 run to take an eight-point lead with just over six minutes remaining. The Bobcats forced a couple turnovers and converted in the final minute of the half to cut the lead to 40-36 in favor of the visiting Pride.

"Jyro and Vince battled on the front line, Kell showed glimpses in his first game action, and we got great contributions off the bench from Caleb, Ant, X, and Stone, especially in that first half," Roberts stated.

The hosts of OU opened the second half on a scoring barrage, scoring 21 of the first 26 points. However, facing a 12-point deficit, PNW clawed back into the game and cut the Ohio lead to 59-57 after a Xavier Allison steal and assist to Jyrus Freels with just over nine minutes remaining. Yet Ohio's size and interior play proved too much for the Pride down the stretch, as the visitors ran out of gas against the talented Bobcats.

Freels led PNW with 19 points, eight boards, and three assists, while Miszkiewicz added 10 boards before fouling out. Junior Mikell Cooper added nine points in his debut, and the freshmen trio of Logan Phillips, Caleb Zurliene, and Anthony Irvin combined for 20 points and 10 assists in their second collegiate contest.

Ohio's Jason Preston led the hosts with 22 points and 11 assists, while Dwight Wilson added a double-double with 17 points and 13 boards.

The Pride open their regular season, conference-only play on January 8 at Michigan Tech.