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TOLEDO, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (13-12, 7-5 MAC) returned to action Friday night (Feb. 16), falling to Toledo (16-9, 10-2 MAC), 85-83, in a back-and-forth affair inside Savage Arena. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 47 percent from the field, 48 percent from three and were 17-of-22 from the line, while Toledo shot 48 percent from the field, 47 percent from three and 81 percent from the line. Toledo out-rebounded Ohio 40-29, while the Bobcats dished out 18 assists and had five blocks, while forcing nine Toledo turnovers. 
 
Individually, junior forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) led Ohio with 22 points, going 7-of-13 from the field, 5-of-8 from three and 3-of-4 from the line, while also grabbing five assists. Senior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) added 16 points, five rebounds and six assists, while fifth year guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) added 12 points and going 7-of-9 from the line. Sophomore guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) added nine points, while sophomore Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) scored nine points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. 
 
Toledo won the tip and got on the board first, however Hadaway matched it with his own layup to tie the game moments later. After Toledo took a 4-2 lead, Ohio went on a 10- run with threes from Clayton and Hunter to give the Bobcats an early 12-4 lead going into the first media timeout. After a three from Hadaway increased the Bobcats' lead, Toledo stopped the run with a three of their own to cut the Ohio lead to 15-7 with 13:35 to go. 
 
After Toledo cut the Ohio lead to seven with 9:36 to go, free throws from James gave Ohio the nine-point lead. After back-to-back threes from sophomore guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) and Clayton increased the lead to 30-17 with 6:57 to go in the half, a four-point run from the Rockets cut the Ohio lead to 30-23 with 5:24 left in the half. Out of the timeout, a three from Hunter put Ohio back up 10. Threes continued to rain for the Bobcats, with Brown picking up one and Hunter hitting two more, giving the Bobcats a 44-32 lead going into the final media timeout of the half. 
 
Out of the timeout, Toledo would go on a 7-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to 44-39 going into the half. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 57 percent from the field, 9-of-14 from three and were 3-of-4 from the line, while Toledo shot 52 percent from the field, 4-of-8 from three and were 1-of-1 from the line. Toledo out-rebounded Ohio 18-11 with eight offensive rebounds to the Bobcats' two. Ohio also dished out 10 assists and had five steals, forcing seven Toledo turnovers. 
 
Hunter led Ohio in the first half with 12 points, going 4-for-4 from three. Clayton added eight points, as did Brown, while Hadaway scored five points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists. 
 
Despite a three from Clayton to start off the half, Toledo cut the Ohio lead to one with 15:53 remaining in the game. After a technical foul was called on the Ohio bench, Toledo took a one-point lead. The two teams traded baskets before Toledo took a three-point lead. A three-point play from James put Ohio back up two, however a three from Toledo moments later, put the Rockets back up one going into the under-12 media timeout. 
 
After Toledo went up six with 8:59 to go, Ohio came out of the timeout with back-to-back layups, cutting the Toledo lead to 66-64 at the under-eight media timeout. After a four-point play from Clayton cut the Ohio deficit to one, a layup from Toledo put the Rockets back up three going into the final media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, a three from Clayton tied the game at 74-74 with under three minutes to go. Free throws from Brown put Ohio up two, however Toledo responded with a jumper to knot the game at 76-76. After Toledo hit a three with under a minute to go, Hadaway hit two free throws to cut the deficit to one with 35.4 seconds to go. Down the stretch, the two teams traded free throws, with Toledo taking a three-point lead with eight seconds to go, giving Ohio the ball back. Ohio was able to cut the deficit to two, however the Bobcats were unable to capitalize on the final tip in layup, falling to the Rockets, 85-83. 
 
For Toledo, Dante Maddox, Jr. led with 21 points and six assists, while Ra'Heim Moss added 16 points and eight rebounds and Javan Simmons had a game-high 16 rebounds. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats return to Athens for the first time in 17 days on Tuesday, Feb. 20 when Ohio hosts Kent State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN+.
 
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