ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (8-5) wrapped up 2022 and nonconference play Friday night (Dec. 30), defeating Chicago State (3-14), 76-59, inside the Convocation Center.
Overall, Ohio shot 42 percent from the field, 33 percent from three and were 19-of-25 from the line, while Chicago State shot 33 percent from the field, 15 percent from three and were 13-of-20 from the line. The Cougars outrebounded the Bobcats, 46-39, however Ohio dished out 16 assists to their nine and forced 17 turnovers, scoring 27 points off them.
Individually, sophomore forward
AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, while freshman guard
AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) added 13 points. Graduate student forward
Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second-straight double double. Senior guard
Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) scored nine points, while junior guard
Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) scored seven points and dished out six assists.
Chicago State won the tip and got on the board first with a layup. Ohio responded with an alleyoop dunk from Clayton and went on to take an early 6-2 lead with a layup and free throws from Hunter. After Chicago State tied the game at 6-6, back-to-back threes from
AJ Brown and
Miles Brown put the Bobcats up six. After Chicago State got two more points, a jumper from freshman guard
Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) sparked a 9-0 run that put the Bobcats up 15 with 12:14 left in the first half.
After both teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, back-to-back baskets from senior guard
DeVon Baker (Dayton, Ohio) and junior center
Gabe Wiznitzer (Walhalla, S.C.) increased Ohio's lead to 18. After the Cougars cut the Bobcats' lead to 13, a dunk from Wilson III and free throws from Clayton but the Bobcats back up 18 with four minutes to go in the half. Then with 30 seconds to go, Clayton drained a three to put Ohio up 42-22, but a free throw from Chicago State with four seconds to go, but the Ohio lead to 42-23 going into halftime.
At the half, Ohio shot 52 percent from the field, 36 percent from three and were 6-of-10 from the line, while Chicago State shot 27 percent from the field, eight percent from three and were 6-of-9 from the line. Chicago State outrebounded Ohio, 23-20, however the Bobcats forced 10 turnovers and scored 20 points off them.
Individually, Clayton led Ohio with eight points and three rebounds, while
Miles Brown also scored eight points. Wilson III added six points and five boards.
Ohio opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 50-23 lead with 17:44 remaining in the game. After Chicago State cut the lead down to 17, a driving layup and a dunk from
AJ Brown and a three and free throws from Clayton put the Bobcats back up 26 with 10 minutes to play.
Over the remaining 10 minutes, the Cougars attempted to cut into the Bobcats' lead, however a three from Hunter with under eight minutes to go, put Ohio up 67-41. After a jumper from freshman guard
Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) put Ohio up 29, Chicago State went on a 12-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to 17 with 47 seconds to go. However, free throws down the stretch from freshman forward
Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) helped seal the 76-59 victory for the Bobcats.
Up next, the Bobcats open Mid-American Conference play on Tuesday, Jan. 3 when they head to Buffalo, N.Y. for a matchup with the Bulls. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Alumni Arena.
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