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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With under two seconds to go with the Ohio men's basketball team (0-1) trailing by one, sophomore forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) hit a three to give the Bobcats a two-point lead with 1.1 seconds to go. However, Belmont (1-0) hit a three of their own at the buzzer to give the Bruins a 70-69 win on opening night inside the Curb Event Center. 
 
As a team, Ohio shot 43 percent from the field, 45 percent from three and were 8-of-9 from the line, while Belmont shot 49.1 percent from the field, 28 percent from three and were 7-of-13 from the line. Ohio out-rebounded the Bruins, 34-30 forced 13 turnovers. The Bobcats dished out eight assists and grabbed five steals, while Belmont dished out 14 assists and had eight steals. 
 
Individually, the Bobcats were lead by graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) who scored 20 points, with 8-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line, while grabbing eight rebounds. Senior guard DeVon Baker (Dayton, Ohio) scored 12 points, while senior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, Ind.) added 11. Clayton finished the game with seven points and a team-high nine rebounds. Junior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) finished the game with eight points. 

"High level game," head coach Jeff Boals said. "It was a great atmosphere. I think Belmont does it right. You know, there's a reason they have done so well. I mean, you can just tell by the facilities and the crowd. And he's done phenomenal job with the program. And yeah, just off the bat, high level game, first game of the year. We just came up short."
 
Belmont won the tip, but the Bobcats got on the board first with a layup from Hunter. Wilson III then got the next six point for Ohio, two layups and two free throws to give Ohio an 8-4 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, junior center Gabe Wiznitzer (Walhalla, S.C) hit a layup, followed by a three from freshman forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) and a jumper from Brown, putting Ohio up nine, however, Belmont went on a 5-0 run, cutting the Ohio lead to 15-11 and forcing the Bobcats to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Belmont tied the game at 15-15 before taking a three-point lead. After Ohio cut it back to one, the teams traded baskets before a turnover gave the Bruins a five-point lead with 7:31 left in the first half. 
 
After Belmont went up six, a three from Brown cut the lead to three. The Bruins matched it with a three of their own before a trey from Baker cut the Belmont lead to 28-25. However, back-to-back layups put the Bruins up seven going into the final media timeout. Three-straight threes from Hunter and Baker tied the game at 34-34. However, a layup, three and a dunk from Belmont with a minute to go, gave them a 41-34 lead going into the half. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 41 percent from the field, 55 percent from three and were 2-of-2 from the line, while Belmont shot 58 percent from the field, 27 percent from three and were 1-of-6 from the line. Ohio out-rebounded the Bruins, 17-16, while the Bobcats forced six turnovers. 
 
Individually, Baker, Hunter and Wilson III all had eight points, while Wilson III grabbing four rebounds. 
 
Belmont opened the second half with five-straight points to take a 12-point lead and forcing the Bobcats to call a timeout early in the half. Out of the timeout, a layup from Wilson III stopped the run. Both teams traded baskets after that, with a dunk from Wilson III cutting the Belmont lead to 16:39 left in the game. After Belmont went back up 12, a jumper from Baker cut the Ohio deficit to seven, however a jumper from the Bruins gave Belmont a nine-point lead with 11:33 left in the game. 
 
Out of the timeout, a three from senior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) cut the Belmont lead to six, however a layup from the Bruins brought the lead back to 56-48 with 7:27 remaining in the game. Out of the timeout, a three from Brown and a jumper from Baker cut the Belmont lead to five, however a three from the Bruins put them back up eight with under six minutes to go. The Bobcats continued to battle back, with a second chance jumper from Clayton with 3:35 left, brought the Bobcats within five points. 
 
Down the stretch, Wilson III and Brown were able to hit free throws to cut the Belmont lead to three with 1:34 remaining in the game. After the Bruins went back up five, a driving layup from Wilson III cut the lead back to three with 57 seconds to go. After Ohio forced a turnover, two more points from Wilson III cut the deficit to one. However, with under two seconds to go, Clayton drained a pullup three to give Oho the lead. However, Belmont would hit the three at buzzer to give them the 70-69 victory. 
 
For Belmont, Cade Tyson finished with 18 points, followed by Bun Sheppard with 18 points and the game-winning three. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats return to Athens to open the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, Nov. 12 when Ohio hosts Cleveland State. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. 
 
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