NORMAL, Ill. – The Ohio men's basketball team (1-2) returned to action Tuesday night (Nov. 12), falling to Illinois State (2-1), 85-75, on the road inside CEFCU Arena. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 47.3 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and were 13-of-16 from the line, while Illinois State shot 61.2 percent from the field, 52.6 percent from three and were 15-of-16 from the line. ISU outrebounded Ohio, 28-23, while the Redbirds dished out 14 assists to the Bobcats eight. Ohio forced 12 Redbird turnovers and scored 17 points off them, while ISU forced 10 turnovers and scored 20 points off them. 
 
Individually, Ohio was led by redshirt sophomore guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) with 20 points, going 6-of-13 from the field, 4-of-8 from three and 4-of-4 from the line. Senior forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) scored 12 points, going 4-of-8 from the field, while grabbing five rebounds and recording three blocks. Junior guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) added 12 points, going 6-for-6 from the line and grabbing four rebounds. Junior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) added 11 points and four rebounds. 
 
Ohio won the tip, but ISU got the first point of the game, before a three from Clayton put Ohio up 3-2. The Redbirds then went on a 6-0 run to take a five-point lead before a driving layup from James stopped the run. The two teams traded baskets before a driving layup from ISU put the Redbirds up 12-7 going into the first media timeout. 
 
After ISU went up 10, the Bobcats started to chip away starting with free throws from Brown and a steal and a driving layup from Hadaway. After a layup from ISU, a pullup three from junior guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) cut the Ohio deficit to 19-14 with 11:43 remaining in the half. 
 
Ohio was able to cut the deficit to one with 10 minutes to go. The two teams traded baskets with Ohio cutting the ISU lead to two multiple time, including a three from Brown that cut the deficit to 27-25 with 6:35 remaining. However, after the Brown three, the Redbirds went on a 7-0 run to take a 34-25 forcing the Bobcats to burn a timeout with 5:14 remaining in the first half. 
 
Out of the timeout, Ohio took advantage of free throws from James, a corner three from Brown and a driving layup from freshman guard Elijah Elliott (Orlando, Fla.) to cut the deficit to 38-34. After Sheldon drew a charge with 6.4 seconds remaining, the Bobcats took the ball up the court with Sheldon draining a three at the top of the key to cut the Ohio deficit to 40-37 going into halftime. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 47 percent from the field, 42 percent from three and were 4-for-4 from the line, while ISU shot 62 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and did not attempt a free throw. ISU outrebounded the Bobcats 15-12 and dished out seven assists to Ohio's four, however the Bobcats recorded three blocks in the half. 
 
ISU opened the second half with a layup to take a five-point lead. After the two teams traded free throws, a 9-0 run from the Bobcats with threes from Hadaway and Brown gave the Bobcats a 48-44 lead, forcing ISU to call a timeout with 16:33 remaining in the half. Ohio took a six-point lead off a hook shot from graduate student forward Vic Searls (Hilliard, Ohio) before five-straight points from the Redbirds cut the Ohio lead to one entering the under-12 media timeout.
 
After ISU took the lead on free throws, a four-point play from junior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) put the Bobcats back up three. However, a 9-0 run from Illinois State put the Redbirds up 64-58, forcing Ohio to burn a 30 second timeout with 8:32 remaining. Ohio was able to cut the deficit to four points, however, ISU capitalized on free throws and hit back-to-back threes to take a 13-point lead with 3:36 to go, once again forcing Ohio to call a timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, a three from Clayton stopped the run, however, ISU matched it with two-straight threes to take a 16-point lead with 2:26 to go. Two free throws from and a layup from Clayton cut the Ohio deficit to 10, however that was as close as the Bobcats would get, falling by the final of 85-75. 
 
Up next, Ohio heads to Memphis, Tenn. on Friday, Nov. 15 to take on Memphis. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET inside FedExForum and can be seen on ESPN+. 
 
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