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ATHENS, Ohio – Led by six players in double figures, including double doubles by graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) and sophomore forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) and career nights from freshmen AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) and Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio), the Ohio men's basketball team (4-3) defeated UC Clermont, 113-44, Wednesday night (Nov. 30) inside the Convocation Center. 
 
The 69-point margin of victory was the largest margin since Ohio defeated Cleveland State by 55 on Dec. 6, 2020 in the Convo. 
 
"These games as a head coach can be a little scary, just from a standpoint of playing the right way," head coach Jeff Boals said. "I thought our guys did a really good job of that. They got off to a really good start and kind of kept going. Sometimes you see the selfishness and the one on one and our guys did not do that. They played the right way, which is what we wanted. Got a lot of guys in double figure minutes and a great team win for our program."
 
Overall, Ohio shot 62.5 percent from the field, 36 percent from three and were 14-of-24 from the line, while Clermont shot 30.5 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from three and 25 percent from the line. Ohio also grabbed 53 rebounds, dished out 26 assists and had seven steals and forced 17 turnovers. 
 
Individually, Brown led with 18 points and four assists, while James added 16 points. Clayton scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Wilson III scored 11 points and grabbed 12 boards. Junior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) added 10 points, while freshman Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) added 10 points and five boards. 
 
UC Clermont won the tip, but Ohio started the scoring with a three from Clayton, spurring the Bobcats on a 12-0 run to open the game. After the Cougars got on the board, a layup from junior center Gabe Wiznitzer (Walhalla, S.C.) gave Ohio a 14-5 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Ohio took a 10-point lead. After the team traded baskets, a dunk from Wilson III and a layup from Brown helped the Bobcats take a 22-13 lead with 10:49 remaining in the first half. Out of the timeout, the Bobcats added on with layups from Wiznitzer, Brown and Clayton, with free throws from Hunter, increasing the Bobcats lead to 19 at the under-eight media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, two threes from freshman guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) and Hunter and a three from senior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) helped push the Ohio run to 26-0 before a jumper from the Cougars fell to stop the run, increasing the Ohio lead to 53-15 with 2:40 remaining in the half. Over the final two minutes, Ohio added baskets from James and Brown to help increase Ohio's lead to 62-17 entering the half. 
 
The Bobcats closed the first half on a 40-4 run over that lasted 10:49. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 60 percent from the field, 44 percent from three and were 5-of-8 from the line, while Clermont shot 29 percent from the field, 25 percent from three and were 0-of-5 from the line, The Bobcats grabbed 31 rebounds to Clermont's 12 and Ohio dished out 14 assists, had five steals and forced 10 turnovers. 
 
Individually, scoring was spread out over the first half, with Clayton scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds, while Hunter added 10 points and Wilson III grabbed eight boards. 
 
The Cougars opened the half with the first points, but Ohio then went on a 10-0 run to take a 72-19 lead going into the first media timeout. Over the next 10 minutes, Brown and James took over the game, generating turnovers and capitalizing with baskets of their own, while Hadaway contributed a dunk and free throws, giving the Bobcats a 95-33 lead with 7:44 remaining in the game. 
 
Out of the timeout, more points from Brown, James and a layup from freshman guard Quinn Corna (Columbus, Ohio) and a dunk from sophomore Olumide Adelodun (Calgary, Canada) increased Ohio's lead to 105-42 with 3:37 remaining. Over the remaining minutes, the Bobcats scored nine more points, including two more baskets from Corna and a dunk from Adelodun, sealing Ohio's victory. 
 
Up next, Ohio heads to Huntington, W. Va. on Saturday, Dec. 3 to take on Marshall. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. inside the Cam Henderson Center.
 
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