CONWAY, S.C. – The Ohio men's basketball team (1-4) opened the 2024 Myrtle Beach Invitational Thursday afternoon (Nov. 21), falling to Middle Tennessee (4-1), 83-81, in overtime inside the HTC Center. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 40 percent from the field, 21 percent from three and were 21-of-29 from the line, while MTSU shot 44 percent from the field, 35 percent from three and were 21-of-32 from the line. MTSU outrebounded Ohio, 48-38, while Ohio forced 20 MTSU turnovers, scoring 20 points off them. The Bobcats also dished out 20 assists and recorded 13 steals. 
 
Overall, Ohio was led by redshirt sophomore guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) led Ohio with 19 points, going 6-of-12 from the field, 1-of-5 from three and 6-of-6 from the line, while grabbing five rebounds. Senior forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) added 18 points, going 7-of-17 from the field, while grabbing 11 rebounds for his first double double of the season. Junior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) added a double double of his how, scoring 15 points, setting a new career-high with 11 assists and going 7-of-10 from the line. Junior guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) added 11 points and three rebounds. 
 
Ohio won the tip and got on the board first with a layup from Clayton. After Ohio went up 4-0, MTSU tied the game. After MTSU went up one, back-to-back layups from Paveletzke and back-to-back threes from James gave Ohio a 14-9 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, MTSU cut the Ohio lead to three with 11:40 to go in the half. 
 
Out of the timeout, Ohio got back-to-back buckets from Brown and Clayton before MTSU went on to tie the game up at 18-18 with 8:50 to go in the half. The two teams traded baskets before back-to-back layups from junior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) gave the Bobcats a two-point lead. After a layup from graduate student forward Vic Searls  (Hilliard, Ohio) put Ohio up four, MTSU went on a an 8-0 run to take a 28-24 lead going into the final media timeout. 
 


Out of the timeout, baskets from Searls and Paveletzke cut the Ohio deficit to three. Then with 10 seconds left, the Bobcats were able to generate a play that allowed a second-chance tip-in layup from Clayton as time expired to cut the MSTU lead to 32-31 entering halftime. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 44 percent from the field, 20 percent from three and were 1-of-5 from the line, while MTSU shot 39 percent from the field, 33 percent from three and were 5-of-7 from the line. MTSU outrebounded the Bobcats 24-16, while Ohio scored 20 points in the paint compared to the Blue Raiders' 14. The Bobcats also recorded seven first half steals and nine first half assists. 
 
The Bobcats opened the first half with a three from Brown, putting Ohio up two. However, MTSU responded with a jumper moments later to tie the game at 34-34. The two teams traded baskets before a three from Clayton put Ohio up one. However, moments later, free throws from MTSU out the Blue Raiders up one going into the first media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, Ohio was able to capitalize on a steal and a Clayton dunk before junior guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) drained a three and hit a free throw for a four-point play to give Ohio a five-point lead. After free throws from Searls put Ohio up seven, four-straight free throws from MTSU cut the lead to 50-47 with 11:30 to go.  After Ohio took a seven-point lead after four straight-points from Brown, MTSU and Searls traded baskets to keep Ohio up seven. However, four-straight points from MTSU cut the Ohio lead to three. However, a free throw from Paveletzke and a three from James put Ohio up 60-53, forcing MTSU to call a timeout with 8:06 remaining. 
 
After a dunk and a driving layup from Clayton and Brown put Ohio back up seven, the two teams started trading baskets. After another basket from brown put Ohio up six, a three from MTSU cut the Ohio lead to 66-63 with 3:56 remaining in the game. After another driving layup from Brown gave Ohio a four-point lead, free throws from MTSU cut the Ohio lead to two with 1:18 to go. After a defensive stop from Ohio, the Bobcats called a timeout to set up a play in the offensive end with 40.3 seconds remaining in the game. 

After Ohio drew a foul out of the timeout, Ohio took a three-point lead, which MTSU matched moments later with a layup to cut the lead to one with 29.4 to go. After Ohio retook a three-point lead on free throws from Paveletzke, MTSU then again followed it up with a driving layup, cutting the lead back to one, with MTSU calling their final timeout. 
 
After two more free throws from Paveletzke once again out Ohio up three, a three pointer from MTSU tied the game at 75-75 with 4.2 seconds remaining. After an Ohio turnover, MTSU was able to capitalize on the final basket, sending the game to overtime with the game tied at 75-75. 
 
MTSU took a three-point lead to open the overtime. Ohio then took a one-point lead on free throws from Brown and Clayton before a three from MTSU put the Blue Raiders up two. The Bobcats were able to get the ball last and get the final shot off with 2.4 seconds remaining, however, the three-point attempt by Brown rattled out of the hoop, securing the 83-81 MTSU win. 
 
For MTSU, the Blue Raiders were led by Jlynn Porter with 24 points, while Essam Mostafa added 19 points, 13 rebounds, while going 7-of-10 from the line. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats are back in action on Friday, Nov. 22 for day two of the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Bobcats will face off with either Portland or USF at 11:30 a.m. 
 
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