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CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Ohio men's' basketball team (1-1) returned to action Saturday night (Nov. 11), falling to Cleveland State (2-1), 82-78, inside the Wolstein Center. 
 
"That was as a really good basketball game," head coach Jeff Boals said. "Give Cleveland State a lot of credit. They're a good team. We knew coming into this game that it was going to be like a MAC environment, where you're going on the road you're playing a really good, really tough team. And you know we're going to be in 12 more of these games on the road. It was a good test for us to get on the road and experience." 
 
For Ohio, the Bobcats were led by graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) with a career-high 15 points, while grabbing five rebounds and one steal. Sophomore guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) added 14 points and six boards, while senior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) added 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Sophomore guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) scored 12 points, while junior forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) added 11. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 50 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from three and 58.3 percent from the line, while Cleveland State shot 41.7 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from three and 80.6 percent from the line. Both teams grabbed 36 rebounds, while Ohio dished out 12 assists to their 11, with the Bobcats also adding six steals and forcing 13 turnovers.  
 
Cleveland State won the tip, but the Bobcats got the first points with a layup from Brown. After a jumper and a three from Brown and three points from James put the Bobcats up five, more points from Brown and James increased the Ohio lead to 14-6. After both teams traded baskets, another jumper from James increased the Bobcats lead to 18-10 going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Cleveland State went on a 9-0 run to erase the Ohio lead, putting the Vikings up one with 10:21 left in the half. 
 
After the Bobcats regained possession, a three from sophomore guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) and a layup from redshirt sophomore Ike Cornish (Baltimore, Md.) put Ohio back up four. However, a three from Cleveland State cut into the Ohio lead. Moments later, a three from Clayton once again put Ohio ahead four, increasing their lead to 26-22 at the under-eight timeout. After Cleveland State tied the game at 26-26, another three from Clayton put the Bobcats back on top. After both teams traded baskets, the Bobcats took a one-point lead into the final media timeout. 
 
Over the remaining three minutes, both teams traded free throws with Hunter hitting the final one of the half to put Ohio up 40-38 going into the locker room. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 53.8 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from three and were 8-of-13 from the line, while Cleveland State shot 36.1 percent from the field, 18.2 percent from three and were 10-of-10 from the line. The Vikings out-rebounded Ohio, 20-19, while the Bobcats dished out six assists to CSU's five. 
 
The start of the second half saw both teams trade baskets, with Cleveland State tying the game at 45-45 going into the first media timeout. After the Vikings took the lead, a three from Mitchell gave Ohio the lead back. Both teams continued to trade baskets, with a layup from Mitchell and another three from Sheldon, who finished with a career-high seven points, tying the game at 54-54 with 11:52 remaining. After a three from Hunter put Ohio up three, back-to-back threes from Cleveland State gave the Vikings a three-point lead, forcing Ohio to call a timeout with 9:32 remaining in the game. Out of the timeout, Mitchell would hit two jumpers, helping cut the Ohio deficit to 62-61 going into the under-eight media timeout. 
 
Layups from Mitchell and James tied the game up at 65-65 before a 5-0 run put the Vikings up 70-65. After a technical was called on Ohio, free throws from CSU increased their lead to seven. After CSU went up 74-66, a jumper from Mitchell once again cut into the Vikings lead going into the final media timeout. After a defensive stop and a layup cut the Ohio deficit to four, a contested three from the Vikings once again gave them a seven-point lead. 
 
Seconds later, a layup from Clayton, a defensive stop and a three from Brown, cut the Ohio deficit to 77-75, forcing a CSU timeout with 57.3 second remaining. However, the Vikings matched it with a three to retake the five-point lead. Then, a free throw from James, a defensive stop and two free throw from Mitchell cut the deficit to 80-78 with 20.9 seconds left, forcing another CSU timeout. Ohio was unable to close the gap over the remaining seconds, falling, 82-78
 
For Cleveland State, Tristan Enaruna finished the game with 22 points, followed by Jayson Woodrich with 14 and Tae Williams with 13. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats have a week off before returning to action on Saturday, Nov. 18 when Ohio hosts Detroit Mercy. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. 
 
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