ATHENS, Ohio – Led by a career-high 27 points from senior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.), the Ohio men's basketball team (10-9, 2-4 MAC) defeated Central Michigan (7-12, 2-4 MAC), 96-68, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 21) inside the Convocation Center. 
 
Miles Brown led with his career-high 27 points, going 9-of-12 from the field, while hitting a career-high six threes. He also grabbed five rebounds and was 3-of-4 from the line. Graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) added 12 points and eight rebounds, followed by junior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) with 12 points. Freshman guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) had a bounce back game with 11 points and four rebounds. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 52 percent from the field, went 15-of-32 from three and was 15-of-21 from the line, while CMU shot 44 percent from the field, 28 percent from three and was 17-of-25 from the line, Ohio out-rebounded CMU,38-32, while the Bobcats dished out 15 assists to their eight. Ohio also forced 15 CMU turnovers and scored 26 points off them. 
 
The Bobcats won the tip and got on the board first with a layup from Hunter. After a free throw from Wilson III and a three from Miles Brown, the Bobcats took and early 6-0 lead before a layup from CMU cut the lead to four. The Bobcats immediately matched it with a dunk rom Wilson III, a steal from Miles Brown and a layup from Hunter and then Miles Brown's second three of the game, giving Ohio a 15-4 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, CMU cut the lead wo seven, however Miles Brown's third three of the game cut the to 18-8 with 11:58 left in the first half. 
 
After CMU cut the Bobcats' lead to seven, layups from freshman guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) and Miles Brown increased Ohio's lead back to nine, before Miles Brown's fourth three of the half, put Ohio up 26-14, forcing CMU to burn a 30 second timeout with 8:49 left in the half. Out of the timeout, CMU responded with a layup and a free throw, however AJ Brown matched it with a jumper, giving Ohio a 28-17 lead with 7:52 remaining in the half. After Hunter hit two free throws out of the timeout, another jumper from Miles Brown gave Ohio a 15-point lead before CMU matched it with a layup. 
 
Moments later, Miles Brown responded with his fifth made three of the half, which was followed by a three from senior guard DeVon Baker (Dayton, Ohio) to put Ohio up 38-19 with 5:34 remaining. After CMU used free throws to cut the deficit, to 17. However, Miles Brown and Baker added layups and free throws for Ohio, giving the Bobcats a 44-23 lead going into the final media timeout. After CMU was able to cut the lead down to 17, free throws from sophomore forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) and a jumper from James gave the Bobcats a 52-31 lead going into the half. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 55 percent from the field, 50 percent from three and were 9-of-12 from the line, while CMU shot 46 percent from the field, 29 percent from three and were 7-of-11 from the line Ohio out-rebounded CMU, 19-15, and dished out eight assists and had six steals. The Bobcats also forced seven CMU turnovers, while scoring 16 points off them, while Ohio only committed one turnover in the half. 
 
Ohio was led by Miles Brown who scored 23 first-half points, going 8-of-9 from the field, 5-of-6 from three and was 2-of-2 from the line, while also grabbing five rebounds. Baker added eight points, while Wilson III and Hunter both had six. 
 
Ohio opened the second half with a layup from Wilson III and a three from Hunter to put the Bobcats up 26 early in the second half. Once CMU responded with a three, threes from senior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) 96and AJ Brown gave the Bobcats a 63-36 lead going into the first media timeout. Over the next 10 minutes, both teams traded baskets and free throws, with CMU cutting the Ohio lead to 72-49 with 7:59 remaining in the game. Out of the timeout, Miles Brown's sixth three of the day put the Bobcats up 24, before both teams traded baskets and free throws, before a three from Hunter increased Ohio's lead to 83-56 with 4:08 remaining in the game. Over the remaining four minutes, CMU capitalized on some free throws, however, the Bobcats matched with three pointers, helping secure the 96-68 victory. 
 
For CMU, Brian Taylor led with 27 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Markus Harding with 16 points. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats stay in Athens on Tuesday, Jan. 24 when they host Western Michigan. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. 
 
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