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CONWAY, S.C. – Led by a monster afternoon from senior forward
AJ Clayton, the Ohio men's basketball team (2-4) got back in the win column Friday afternoon (Nov. 22), defeating Portland (2-4), 85-73, at the Myrtle Beach Invitational inside the HTC Center. Clayton's 34 points set a new career-high.
The win also marked head coach
Jeff Boals' 100
th victory at Ohio.
Individually, Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) scored 34 points, going 13-of-26 from the field and 6-of-14 from three, while grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior forward
Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) added 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while graduate student forward
Vic Searls (Hilliard, Ohio) added 11 points, while going 5-of-8 from the field. Junior guard
Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) added 10 points,10 assists and five rebounds for his second-straight double double. Paveletzke is one assist away from setting the all-time tournament record for assists at the event.
Overall, Ohio shot 45.2 percent from the field, 32.4 percent from three and were 8-of-11 from the line, while Portland shot 46.7 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from three and were 13-of-21 from the line. Ohio outrebounded the Pilots, 43-36, while the Bobcats dished out 20 assists to Portland's 12. Ohio also forced 13 turnovers and scored 14 points off them.
Portland won the tip, but the Bobcats got on the board first with a three from Clayton. After the two teams traded baskets, Portland tied the game at 6-6, redshirt sophomore guard
AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) and Clayton hit back-to-back threes to give Ohio a 12-6 lead going into the first media timeout. After Portland cut the Ohio lead to four, the Bobcats' offense went to work. Another three from Clayton, a jumper from Paveletzke and a layup from Searls put Ohio up 11. The Pilots stopped the Ohio run, but a three at the top of the key from Searls capped a 7-0 run for Ohio, giving the Bobcats a 26-10 lead with 11:36 remaining in the half.
After Portland cut the Ohio lead to 11, another three from Clayton gave the Bobcats a 14-point lead. After a free throw from Portland cut the lead to 12, layups from Brown and back-to-back layups from Seals put the Bobcats up 39-23 entering the final media timeout.
Out of the timeout, a three from Hadaway put the Bobcats up 17, however a jumper and a free throw from Portland cut into the Ohio lead. But with two seconds remaining in the half, Paveletzke capitalized on a jumper, giving the Bobcats a 46-30 lead going into the half.
At the half, Ohio shot 53 percent from the field, were 7-of-17 from three and were 1-of-2 from the line, while Portland shot 38 percent from the field, were 0-of-7 from three and went 8-of-11 from the line. Ohio out-rebounded Portland, 23-16, while Ohio dished out 11 assists and had two blocks.
Ohio opened the half with the first basket on a layup from Clayton, however a 9-0 run from Portland cut the Ohio lead to nine. Clayton stopped the run with a jumper and followed it up with a driving layup from Seals helped give the Bobcats a 52-41 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, a layup from Hadway put Ohio back up 13, but four-straight points from Portland cut the Ohio lead to 54-46 with 13:43 remaining. After a three-point play from Hadaway put Ohio back up 11, a three from Portland erased the effort, cutting the Ohio lead to 57-49 with 11:17 remaining in the game.
Moments later, a three from junior guard
Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) started a 13-4 run for the Bobcats, giving Ohio a 70-53 lead for Ohio with 8:14 remaining in the game. Out of the timeout, a driving layup and another three from Clayton put Ohio up 22, however, a 7-0 run from Portland cut the Bobcats lead to 75-60 with 6:13 remaining in the game.
Out of the final media timeout, free throws from James gave Ohio a 19-point lead, however an 8-0 run from Portland cut the Ohio lead to 11 with 2:11 remaining in the game. After Portland cut the Ohio lead to eight. Free throws from Paveletzke and a layup and a thundering dunk from Clayton in the final seconds sealed the deal for the Bobcats, giving Ohio the 85-73 victory.
Ohio is back in action on Sunday, Nov. 24 for the final day of the 2024 Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Bobcats will take on Texas State at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
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