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KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Ohio men's basketball team (7-9, 1-3 MAC) returned to action on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 13) in snowy Kalamazoo, falling to Western Michigan (7-9, 4-0 MAC), 81-79 inside University Arena.
Overall, Ohio shot 43 percent from the field, 29 percent from three and were 21-of-29 from the line, while WMU shot 47 percent from the field, 44 percent from three and were 21-of-29 from the line. The Broncos outrebounded the Bobcats 45-29 and dished out 16 assists to Ohio's 11. The Bobcats also forced 13 WMU turnovers and scored 16 points off them.
Individually, junior forward
AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) led the way with 15 points, followed by graduate student guard
Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists and sophomore forward
Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) with 13 points and five rebounds. Fifth year guard
Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) added seven points and six rebounds, while senior center
Gabe Wiznitzer (Walhalla, S.C.) scored nine points.
WMU won the tip, but Ohio got on the board first with a layup from Clayton. The two teams continued to trade baskets over the opening minutes, before a free throws from hunter and a layup from sophomore guard
Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) gave the Bobcats a three-point lead entering the first media timeout. A dunk from Wiznitzer out of the timeout put Ohio up five, before a three from redshirt sophomore guard/forward
Ike Cornish (Baltimore, Ohio) helped put Ohio up 10 with 13:22 to go. However, the Broncos would go on a 4-0 run to cut the Bobcats' lead to six entering the media break.
A three from Clayton out of the timeout put the Bobcats back up nine, however, a 10-2 run from the Broncos cut the Ohio lead to one with eight minutes to go in the half. WMU tied the game up at 25-25 before the two teams traded baskets, with free throws from Hadaway giving Ohio a 31-29 lead entering the final media timeout of the half. WMU went on to take a three-point lead, before the Bobcats tied the game with five-straight points from Wiznitzer. The Broncos were able to hit a free throw in the final minute to take a 37-36 lead into the half.
At the half, Ohio shot 44 percent from the field, 20 percent from three and were 10-of-12 from the line, while WMU shot 41 percent from the field, 44 percent from three and were 9-of-10 from the line. WMU outrebounded Ohio 21-13, with eight offensive boards.
Individually, Wiznitzer led Ohio with nine points followed by James with six points and four rebounds. Hadaway, Hunter and Layton all added five points for the Bobcats.
Ohio opened the second half with a 4-0 run to take a 41-37 lead, before the two teams traded baskets for the Broncos to take a one-point lead going into the first media timeout of the half. Out of the timeout, the teams continued to trade baskets with Mitchell giving Ohio a one-point lead, however, a three and a layup from WMU put the Broncos back up four with 12:47 remaining in the game. Western Michigan would go on to take a 10-point lead, before a three from Clayton stopped the Bobcats' scoring drought, helping cut the Ohio deficit to 62-55 with 8:24 left.
Ohio was able to cut the WMU lead to six, however, back-to-back hook shots from the Broncos, increased WMU's lead back to 10 going into the final media timeout. Out of the timeout, a three from Hadaway and a three-point play from Mitchell cut the Ohio deficit to three with 1:20 remaining in the game. However, on the next possession, the Broncos hit a three to increase its lead back to six. Ohio was able to cut the lead back down to one with a three-pointer and two free throws from Sheldon, however WMU was able to grab the final rebound to secure the 81-79 win.
For WMU, four Broncos scored in double figures and were led by Seth Hubbard with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Up next, Ohio returns to Athens on Tuesday, Jan. 16 when the Bobcats host Centra Michigan. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN+.
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