ATHENS, Ohio — Winning a postseason game for the first time in the program’s history was just one of the goals Brown was attempting to accomplish against Ohio University last night in the first College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

The Bears, whose .678 regular-season winning percentage was their best since 1945, also were attempting to reach 20 victories for the first time.

But their 80-74 loss kept the Bears from reaching those goals.

Still, their 19 regular-season wins broke the previous school mark of 17 set in 1974, 2003 and 2005, and their nine losses heading into the matchup were the fewest for the school in 34 years.

Last night’s game against the Bobcats was Brown’s fourth against the Mid-American Conference school. Ohio won the first three meetings, including a 71-62 decision the last time the teams met, in 2003.

While Brown finished second at 11-3 in the Ivy League behind Cornell (14-0), the Bobcats entered the matchup at 19-12, including finishing tied for third with Miami in the MAC-East Division behind Kent State and Akron.

The Bears’ other postseason appearances came in 1939, when they lost in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, and in 1986 and 2003, when they lost in the first round of the NIT.

Huffman leading way

With the four 3-pointers he made in Brown’s 75-71 win over Dartmouth on March 9, senior guard Damon Huffman established a school career record for 3-pointers with 223 — a mark that also ranks him 10th all-time in the Ivy League.

Against the Bobcats last night, Huffman scored the Bears’ first 14 points, including making four 3-pointers.

He entered the game 10th all-time with 1,267 career points and trailed Brian Saunders (1,288) and Rick Lloyd (1,294) on the all-time list.

Huffman scored 22 in the first half, including six 3-pointers.

Senior guard Mark McAndrew also got into the long-rangeaction in the first half, making three 3-pointers.

Postseason field

Because of the addition of the 16-team CBI, 113 men’s basketball teams were given the chance to compete in the 2007-08 postseason — up from 97 a year ago.

The CBI is staged by the Gazelle Group, which is based in Princeton, N.J., and is composed of 16 teams. It takes place in on-campus arenas throughout the country.

There is a single-elimination format for the event’s first three rounds, with a best-of-three championship series to be held March 31, April 2 and April 4.

Brown and Ohio were placed in the Midwest regional along with Bradley and Cincinnati, which meet at 7 o’clock tonight.

The second-round matchup will be March 24 at a site and time to be determined.

Other first-round games last night in the CBI were Rider at Old Dominion and Richmond at Virginia.

Hot from long range

Led by the 8-for-13 shooting of Huffman in the first half, the Bears made 14 of their 30 first-half shots and shot 9-for-18 from 3-point range while building a 37-32 lead.

The Bobcats, who closed the regular season by losing six of their last 10 and fell to Miami, 74-61, on March 12 in the MAC Tournament, outrebounded the Bears, 20-14, in the first half.

Leon Williams, who is Ohio’s tallest player at 6-foot-8, and Jerome Tillman each had 11 points in the first half.

Comparative scores

The Bobcats and Bears entered the game with two common opponents. Brown beat Eastern Michigan, 74-55, in its opener on Nov. 9, but Ohio lost to the Eagles, 63-56, on Feb. 6.

While the Bears were swept by Cornell ( 75-64 on Feb. 1 and 74-65 on Feb. 23), the Bobcats defeated the Big Red, 102-89, on Nov. 17.