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ATHENS, Ohio – Led by a career high 25 points from junior guard Jaylin Hunter, the Ohio men's basketball team (14-11, 6-6 MAC) returned to action Friday night (Feb. 10), defeating Akron (17-8, 9-3 MAC), 90-81, inside the Convocation Center. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 48.4 percent from the field, 62.5 percent from three and were 20-of-23 from the line, while Akron shot 50.8 percent from the field, 47.8 percent from three and were 10-of-18 from the line. Ohio out-rebounded Akron, 33-32, while the Bobcats dished out 13 assists to Akron's 11. Ohio also forced 13 turnovers, grabbed seven steals and scored 17 points off the turnovers. 
 
Individually, Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) led with 25 points, going 7-of-14 from the field, 4-of-7 from three and 7-of-9 from the line, while graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) added 16 points and eight rebounds, while going 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line. Senior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) added 12 points, followed by senior guard DeVon Baker (Dayton, Ohio) and freshman guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) with 11 points each. Junior center Gabe Wiznitzer (Walhalla, S.C.) added four points and seven rebounds for the Bobcats. 
 
Akron won the tip and got on the board first with a three, however Ohio matched it moments later with a three from James to tie the game at 3-3. Both teams traded layups before another three from Akron gave them a three-point lead. After Akron took the lead, Hunter drained a three of his own to tie the game at 8-8 going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Akron retook the lead before a jumper from Hunter tied the game up at 10-10. After the two teams traded baskets, a jumper from Baker put Ohio up one, however moments later, a dunk from Akron put the Zips up one with 12 minutes to go. 
 
Out of the timeout, a layup and a free throw from Wilson III gave Ohio a two-point lead, however Akron matched it with a jumper to tie the game back up. After both teams traded layups and free throws from James to tie the game at 21-21, a three from Hunter out the Bobcats up three. However, moments later, a layup and a three from the Zips put them back up 26-24 going into the under-eight media timeout 
 
With the Zips up three, free throw from Hunter tied the game at 26-26, before a layup from Wiznitzer and a free throw from Miles Brown gave Ohio a three-point lead again. After the teams traded baskets, the Bobcats took a four-point lead after a three from senior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio), however the Zips tied the game up at 34-34 just moments later. However, the Bobcats responded with a three from freshman guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.), before two more free throws from Hunter gave the Bobcats a 39-34 lead with 3:37 remaining in the half. Out of the timeout, Ohio took a seven-point lead after a layup from sophomore forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio). After Akron cut the lead to three, another three from Roderick put Ohio up six. However, Akron responded with a layup at the end of the half, cutting the Bobcats' lead to 44-40 going into the half. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 44 percent from the field, 67 percent from three and were 10-of-12 from the line, while Akron shot 50 percent from the field, 55 percent from three and were 6-of-12 from the line. Both teams grabbed 18 rebounds and dished out six assists. 
 
For Ohio, Hunter led Ohio with 16 points, followed by James with seven points and Roderick, AJ Brown and Wilson III all with three points. Wiznitzer finished the half with seven rebounds.
 
Akron opened the half with the first basket to cut the lead to two, however Ohio responded with a layup from Wilson III. After free throws cut the Ohio lead back to three, Wilson III's own free throws put Ohio back up five, before layups from Wilson III and a jumper from James gave the Bobcats a 54-45 lead, forcing Akron to burn a timeout with 16:50 to go in the game. Out of the timeout, a layup from Wilson III put the Bobcats up 11, however Akron then went on a 5-0 run to cut the Bobcats' lead to six. Miles Brown and the Zips then traded baskets, putting the Bobcats up eight with 14:22 to go. 
 
Out of the timeout, the Ohio offense erupted. After a jumper from Miles Brown and a three from Baker put Ohio up 13, forcing Akron to call another timeout. Moments later, Akron head coach John Groce was assessed a technical, and Baker hit both free throws. Then after a steal from Roderick, a three from Miles Brown put the Bobcats up 70-52 with 11:06 remaining in the game. Out of the timeout, Akron went on a 5-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to 13, forcing Ohio to burn a 30 second timeout. Free throws from Hunter put Ohio back up 14, however a three from the Zips cut the lead back to 11. Moments later, a three from Hunter and a layup from Wilson III gave the Bobcats a 76-62 lead with 7:37 to go. Akron again cut the Bobcats' lead to 11 before a layup from James gave Ohio a 13-point lead with 4:11 remaining in the game. 
 
A three and a steal and a layup from Hunter – which gave him a new career-high-put the Bobcats up 86-68 with 3:09 remaining. An 8-0 run by the Zips cut the Ohio lead to 10 with 1:16 left in the game, before free throws from Baker stopped the run. Another 5-0 run from Akron brought the Zips within seven with 44 seconds to go, however Baker was able to hit his free throws down the stretch, securing the 90-81 win. 
 
For Akron, Xavier Castaneda scored 34 points, followed by Enrique Freeman with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Up next, Ohio is back in Athens on Tuesday, Feb. 14 when Ohio hosts Buffalo, Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. 
 
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