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NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Ohio men's basketball team (3-2) got back in the win column on Saturday (Nov. 25), defeating Middle Tennessee State, 80-68, in the 2023 Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 59 percent from the field, 41 percent from three and were 7-of-10 from the line, while MTSU shot 44 percent from the field, 23 percent from three and were 16-of-20 from the line. MTSU outrebounded the Bobcats, 27-26, however, Ohio dished out 16 assists, while forcing 14 turnovers. 
 
Individually, senior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) led Ohio with 19 points, going 7-of-9 from the field, 3-of-3 from three and dished out three assists. Junior forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) added 15 points, going 5-of-6 from the field, and hit a career-high five threes. Graduate student Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) scored 14 points, while sophomore guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds. 
 
MTSU opened the game with the first six points of the game with back-to-back threes. Ohio got on the board moments later with two threes from Clayton and a layup from Hunter to tie the game at 8-8 entering the first media timeout. The two teams continued to trade baskets over the next four minutes, with jumper from sophomore guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) and a layup from senior center Gabe Wiznitzer (Walhalla, S.C.) helping cut the Bobcats' deficit to two with 11:32 remaining in the half. 
 
Out of the timeout, another three from Clayton gave the Bobcats their first lead of the game. A moment later, a steal and a layup from Hunter gave Ohio a three-point lead at the under-eight media timeout. After free throws from MTSU cut the Ohio lead to one, a driving layup from Mitchell and a three from Hunter put Ohio up five with 5:07 left. Then, back-to-back dunks from Wiznitzer increased the Ohio lead to nine, before a layup from MTSU cut the Bobcats' lead to 34-27 entering the final media timeout. 
 
An 8-0 run from MTSU cut the Ohio lead to one with 1:13 left in the half, however a layup from sophomore guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) put Ohio back up three. After MTSU tied the game on a three with 41 seconds to go, Ohio was able to counter with a turnaround jumper from Mitchell to give the Bobcats a 40-38 lead going into halftime. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 62 percent from the field, 33 percent from three and did not get to the line, while MTSU shot 52 percent from the field, 43 percent from three and were 8-of-8 from the line. MTSU outrebounded Ohio, 12-10, while the Bobcats forced 10 turnovers and dished out eight assists. 
 
Individually, Mitchell led with 10 points, followed by Hunter and Clayton with nine points each. 
 
Middle Tennessee cut the Ohio lead to two to open the second half, however a jumper from James and a three from Hunter gave the Bobcats a seven-point lead entering the first media timeout. Moments later, a layup and a three from Sheldon put Ohio up 10 for the first time in the game. After an MTSU layup, jumper from James and redshirt sophomore guard Ike Cornish (Baltimore, Md.) helped give the Bobcats a 58-49 lead with 12:08 remaining in the game. 
 
Out of the timeout, Ohio took an 11-point lead on free throws from Wiznitzer. After MTSU cut the lead to seven, threes from hunter and Clayton and a driving layup from hunter increased the Ohio lead to 13, forcing MTSU to burn a timeout with 8:57 left in the game. Out of the timeout, another three from Clayton put Ohio up 16. After both teams traded free throws, a layup from MTSU cut the Ohio lead to 74-63 going into the final media timeout. 
 
MTSU was able to cut the Ohio lead to nine twice, however free throws from Mitchell and Hunter were able to give Ohio a 12-point lead with under two minutes to go. MTSU was unable to cut anymore into the Ohio lead, with the Bobcats securing the 80-68 victory. 
 
For MTSU, Jared Coleman-Jones led with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Elias King scored 15 points. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats conclude the 2023 Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship on Sunday, Nov. 16 when they face off with Brown (2-5) at 1:30 p.m. in the fifth-place game. 
 
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