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KENT, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (17-13, 9-8 MAC) returned to action Tuesday night (Feb. 28), failing to Kent State (24-6, 14-3 MAC), 82-75, in a hard-fought battle inside the M.A.C. Center. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 44.1 percent from the field, 38.7 percent from three and 73.3 percent from the line, while Kent State shot 54.4 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from three and 75.0 percent from the line, Kent State outrebounded Ohio 32-30, while the Flashes dished out 13 assists to Ohio's eight. 
 
Individually, junior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) led Ohio with 14 points, followed by senior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) with 11 points and six rebounds. Sophomore AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds, while senior guard DeVon Baker (Dayton, Ohio) scored nine points, as did senior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio). Graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III (Tallahassee, Fla.) scored seven points and grabbed eight boards. 
 
Kent State won the tip and got on the board early with a 5-0 run. Ohio stopped the run with a jumper from Hunter, however Kent State went on to take an 11-2 lead, forcing Ohio to burn a timeout with 15:15 left in the first half. Out of the timeout, a three from Roderick and a jumper from Clayton cut the Ohio deficit to 11-7. Following a three from Kent State, free throw from Miles Brown and a three from freshman guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) cut the Ohio deficit to four going into the second media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, Kent State went up five after a free throw. Moments later, freshman guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) cut the deficit to three after free throws of his own. However, a three from the Flashes increased their lead back to six. Moments later, a three and a jumper from Miles Brown and a deep three from Hunter, cut the Ohio deficit to 23-22, forcing Kent State to call a timeout with 7:42 left in the first half. After free throws put Kent State back up three, a free throw from Miles Brown and a three from James tied the game at 25-25. Moments later, back-to-back threes from Roderick and Clayton out the Bobcats up 31-25 with 4:43 left in the first half. Kent State stopped the Ohio run and the two teams traded baskets, with Ohio taking a 33-29 lead going into the final media timeout of the half. 
 
Out of the timeout, four-straight points from Kent State cut the Ohio lead to one, before a deep three from Clayton with seven seconds left in the half gave the Bobcats the 39-35 lead going into halftime. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from three and were 5-of-6 from the line, while Kent State shot 48.3 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from three and were 3-of-4 from the line. Ohio outrebounded the Flashes 15-14, while Kent State dished out eight assists to Ohio's five. 
 
Individually, Roderick led with nine points, followed by Miles Brown and Clayton with eight points and three rebounds each. Wilson III led Ohio with five rebounds. 
 
Kent State got the first points of the half with a three, cutting Ohio's lead to one. Moments later, Wilson III and the Flashes traded baskets to keep the Ohio lead to one. Ohio followed that up with a layup from James, a driving layup from Hunter and then a three to put Ohio up 48-40, forcing Kent State to burn a timeout with 16:57 left in the game. After Ohio went up 10, Kent State went on a 14-3 run to take a 54-53 lead with 11:51 left in the game. 
 
After Kent State went up three, a jumper from Baker cut the Ohio deficit to one. After a free throw gave the Flashes a two-point lead, a jumper and a free throw from Baker tied the game at 59-59. After Kent State retook the lead, another jumper from Baker put Ohio up one before a three from Kent State put the Flashes up 63-61 with 7:36 remaining in the game. After three free throws from Clayton put Ohio up one, Kent State went on a 6-1 run to take a four-point lead, before a second chance three from Hunter cut the deficit to one. However, back-to-back layups from Kent State increased its lead to 73-68 with 4:21 remaining. 
 
After a jumper from Baker cut the deficit to three, another three from Kent State put the Flashes up six. The Bobcats kept battling, cutting the deficit back to four, however that's as close as the Bobcats would get, falling 82-75. 
 
For Kent State, Sincere Carry led with 23 points and five rebounds, while Chris Payton added 15 points and nine rebounds. Malique Jacobs added 15 points and five assists. 
 
The Bobcats wrap up the 2022-23 regular season on Friday, March 3 when they host Bowling Green. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on CBS Sports Network. It will also be Senior Night for the Bobcats. 
 
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