Kyle Grantham / Staff Photographer / kg116806@ohiou.edu

Ohio forward Leon Williams (5) puts up a shot over Miami center Adam Fletcher (41) in the second half of Ohio's 74-61 loss to Miami in the quarter-finals of the MAC Tournament.  Williams and the rest of the Bobcats will face Brown in the opening round of the first CBI Tournament at The Convo.

Leon Williams and Bubba Walther will have another shot to end their careers on a positive note.

After a disappointing defeat to Miami in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament, the Bobcats accepted an invitation to play in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational, and the team will host an opening-round game against Brown tomorrow at 7 p.m.

"I particularly wanted to give this group an opportunity because they've been a good group," coach Tim O'Shea said. "I think it can help build some momentum for next season."

The Bears (19-9, 11-3 Ivy) finished second in the Ivy League behind Cornell, whom Ohio beat 102-89 in the second game of the season. Brown coach Craig Robinson is the brother-in-law of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The Bobcats are the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional and if they win their game Tuesday, the team will play the winner of the game between No. 1 seed Bradley and No. 4 seed Cincinnati. The time and site of that game is undetermined.

Other notable teams in the tournament include Miami, a No. 3 seed in the South, Washington and Virginia.

In other news, O'Shea said that he met with guard Allen Hester Sunday and announced that the guard would be in uniform against the Bears Tuesday but would not play. Hester posted on his Facebook page that he planned to leave the team after the loss Thursday to the RedHawks.

"He really expressed remorse," O'Shea said. "It's really just frustration borne in wanting to play more, which we talked about."

The Ohio coach added that if Ohio wins against Brown, Hester will be reinstated for any future games the team may have in the tournament.

"It was an emotion of the moment; he wanted to play more and I understand that," O'Shea said. "It wasn't very mature, but we addressed it and kind of moved on. He was very apologetic."

O'Shea did not speculate whether Hester would be with the team next season.

"That's something we'll look at in the spring," O'Shea said. "We'll see how he feels in coming back here and really competing for a spot, or if really he would feel more comfortable going to a place at maybe a lower level that he would be more assured of playing."