ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (1-1) returned to action on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 12), defeating Cleveland State (0-3), 81-70, inside the Convocation Center. 
 
Junior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) led Ohio with 17 points, four rebounds and seven assists, while going 4-of-7 from three. Senior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) added 14 points and went 6-of-6 from the line, while senior DeVon Baker (Dayton, Ohio) scored 13 points. Graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) led with a game-high 14 rebounds and freshman guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) added eight points for the Bobcats. 
 
As a team, Ohio shot 52 percent from the field, 55 percent from three and were 17-of-19 from the line, while Cleveland State shot 45 percent from the field, 38 percent from three and were 14-of-24 from the line. Both teams pulled down 32 rebounds, while Ohio dished out eight assists and forced 13 turnovers, scoring 19 points off them. CSU dished out 14 assists and had seven steals, while forcing 13 turnovers. 

"First of all, what an awesome crowd," head coach Jeff Boals said. " I love having the students back in the Convo. There's no better fan base in the MAC than our fans. I'm glad we came out and got the win. It was big for us coming off the loss at Belmont, the way we lost. So I was really proud of our guys response heading into game today."
 
Cleveland State won the tip, but the Bobcats got on the board first with a free throw from Hunter. After CSU took the lead on a layup, a corner three from Baker put Ohio up two with 18 minutes left in the half. Out of the media timeout, freshman forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) gave the Bobcats a three-point lead with 15:43 left. However, CSU went on 7-0 run to take a four-point lead, before a layup from James cut the lead to 11-9 with 11:55 remaining. Out of the timeout, senior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) tied the game at 11-11 with two free throws. After the teams traded baskets, the Vikings took a five-point lead, before a layup and a free throw from Wilson III cut the deficit to two. A jumper from Brown moments later tied the game back up, but a dunk from CSU put them back up two with 7:25 remaining in the half. 
 
After CSU retook a five-point lead, a three from Hunter cut the deficit to two, before Brown hit two free throw to tie the game at 25-25.  After a layup from CSU out them back up two, another three from Hunter give the Bobcats a one-point lead going into the final media timeout. Out of the timeout, two more free throws from Brown and a pullup jumper from Baker out Ohio up five with just over two minutes to go, forcing a Vikings timeout. Out of the timeout, Ohio forced a CSU turnover that resulted in a corner three for Brown, increasing Ohio's lead to eight. Moments later, Brown drained another three. However, CSU hit one of their own with 12 seconds to go, sending the teams to the locker room with a 38-30 lead. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from three and were 9-of-11 from the line, while CSU shot 41 percent from the field, 38 percent from three and were 3-of-3 at the line. Ohio grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out six assists and had six steals, while CSU has 18 rebounds, eight assists and one steal. 
 
Individually, Ohio was led by Brown with 12 points, followed by Hunter with seven points, three assists and three rebounds, while Wilson III added a team-high six boards. 
 
Ohio opened the second half with four-straight points from sophomore forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) before CSU cut the Ohio lead to 10. Then a three from Baker put the Bobcats up 45-32 with 17:35 left. After a layup from the Vikings, the Bobcats exploded for six-straight points with threes from Hunter and Clayton, giving Ohio a 17-point lead and forcing Cleveland State to call a timeout. After the Bobcats took a 55-38 lead with 14:51 left, CSU was able to hit a couple free throws and a three, cutting the Ohio lead to 13 and forcing the Bobcats to call a timeout with 13:18 remaining in the game. 
 
After the timeout, the two teams traded baskets, with CSU hitting a three to cut the Ohio lead to 12, however, James responded with a layup, giving the Bobcats a 14-point lead with 12:03 remaining. Free throws from James increased Ohio's lead to 16 before CSU was able to cut it back to 12. After a three from Roderick and free throws from Hunter, Ohio went up 66-49 with 10:01 remaining. The two teams then traded baskets again, with a three from Baker pushing Ohio ahead, 69-54, with eight minutes remaining in the game.
 
Out of the timeout, a layup from Baker and free throws from Brown put the Bobcats up 19. After trading baskets, CSU cut the Ohio lead to 15 going into the final media timeout. Out of the timeout, four-straight free throws from CSU cut the Ohio lead to 11, before threes from sophomore guard Olumide Adelodun (Calgary, Canada) and Hunter helped seal the 81-70 victory.
 
For CSU, the Vikings were led by Yahel Hill with 20 points, followed by Tae Williams with 12. Deante Johnson added 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
Up next, the Bobcats head to Detroit, Mich. on Wednesday, Nov. 16 to take on Detroit Mercy. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+. 
 
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