Justin Orr wanted to regain his non-conference form with a little more on the line in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

After struggling to find his shooting touch throughout most of conference play, the junior forward totaled 12 points — his highest scoring output since the Dec. 21 game against Louisiana-Lafayette — last night in Ohio’s quarterfinal loss to Miami.

“This was a tournament game and I knew for the team I had to give an extra effort and more energy,” Orr said. “I tried to bring as much as I could, but I just came up short.”

Orr shot above 50 percent from the field for the first time since that game in Hawaii, and Ohio coach Tim O’Shea said he saw good things from the Murray State transfer. O’Shea added that he would like to see some consistency in his play entering next season.

“Orr played well tonight,” he said. “He really came out with a lot of energy, but he has to do it all the time.”

Turning to a freshman

O’Shea opted to go with forward DeVaughn Washington instead of center Kenneth Van Kempen in the second half when resting forward Leon Williams. Typically Van Kempen is Williams’ primary backup, but the Bobcat coach felt he could get more rebounds playing the freshman.

“DeVaughn has proven himself to be a good rebounder,” O’Shea said. “I thought there were some rebounds in the first half that we didn’t get to, and I thought he was the guy that has had the sure hands down the stretch here.”

Washington finished with two rebounds and one block in 10 minutes of play, and O’Shea was not disappointed with the freshman’s effort, especially in key portions of the second half.

“I thought DeVaughn played well; he blocked a shot, got some rebounds and made a nice pass into the post,” O’Shea said.

O’Shea added that he believes Van Kempen has struggled with his confidence in the second half of the season with the team focusing so much attention on Williams.

“I think for Kenneth it’s been tough because his minutes have been so cut back with as well as Leon has played,” O’Shea said. “I think he needs a good spring and summer to get his confidence back and to really get more of a rhythm playing.”

End of the season?

Although it is unlikely that the Bobcats will be playing in the National Invitational Tournament, O’Shea remained hopeful that the team still has a chance to receive a bid in a new postseason tournament, the College Basketball Invitational.

“I think it depends on how everything shakes out,” O’Shea said. “I know the guy who runs it has my cell phone number, so we will have to see if my phone rings Sunday.”

The event features 16 teams, putting the total of teams playing in the postseason to 113. The opening round games are March 18.

Stat Stuffers

After shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range against Buffalo, the Bobcats shot just 30.8 percent from behind the arc last night … Guards Michael Allen and Bubba Walther each dished out five assists … Ohio recorded its fewest turnovers in a game since Feb. 18, 2006 in a 64-52 win over Samford.