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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (14-12, 8-5 MAC) returned to action on Tuesday evening (Feb. 20), defeating the Kent State Golden Flashes (13-13, 6-7 MAC), 63-57 inside a raucous Convocation Center. The win gave Ohio their first season sweep against the Golden Flashes since 2013.
Overall, Ohio shot 35.4 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from three and were 21-of-24 from the line, while Kent State shot 31.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and went 9-of-12 from the line. Kent State outrebounded Ohio 38-36. The Bobcats also forced eight turnovers and scored 10 points off them.
Individually, Ohio was led by senior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) who had 13 points, three rebounds and three assists. Junior forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) assisted with nine points, five rebounds and three blocks. Fifth year senior Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) added 10 points, two rebounds and two steals. Brown knocked down two late threes to help Ohio secure the win. Sophomore forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) also added nine points and six rebounds, while graduate student Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) added eight points, nine rebounds, two assists and one steal.
It was a slow start for both teams, but Kent State got on the board first. Clayton gave Ohio its first points of the game with a deep three-point jumper assisted by Brown. Brown added points to the board with an under the rim basket assisted by Hadaway. Kent State and Ohio kept the score gap close, staying within a basket of each other. Clayton stopped the Golden Flashes from scoring on the other end with an emphatic block off of the backboard going into the first media timeout of the game. Mitchell banked a three-point basket assisted by Hunter immediately following the timeout.
Both teams played aggressively on defense to keep each other off the scoreboard, entering a scoring drought of almost two minutes of play. Redshirt sophomore Ike Cornish (Baltimore, Md.) broke the scoreless streak going 2-of-2 at the free throw line and tying the score. Cornish followed his free throw shots with a three-point basket from the wing assisted by Mitchell.
Ohio entered a three minute scoring drought, but the streak was broken by a driving layup from sophomore guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio). Kent State grew their lead to eight points with less than five minutes remaining in the half.
Neither team would score a basket during the final three minutes of the first half, Brown broke the scoreless streak by going 2-of-2 with the bonus foul shots at the stripe. Going into the locker room, Kent State led 33-27.
At the half, Ohio was led by Mitchell with six points, four rebounds and one steal. Cornish had five points while Hadaway added four points, four rebounds and one assist. Brown also added four points, with one assist and a steal.
Kent State began the second half with possession of the ball, but Ohio came in hot with a three-point basket made by Clayton and assisted by Mitchell. Both teams kept the score close by trading baskets. Clayton went 3-of-3 at the stripe after drawing a foul from beyond the arc.
Ohio had a successful defensive press forcing Kent State to run out the shot clock and gain back possession of the ball. Sophomore guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) went 2-of-2 from the line to add points to the board for the Bobcats. Ohio trailed by five points for the majority of the second half. Senior center Gabe Wiznitzer (Walhalla, S.C.) added two points from the stripe and a three-point basket from Sheldon put Ohio behind Kent State by three points going into the media timeout.
Coming out of the media timeout, the Bobcats roared. Hunter threw up a circus-shot and got it to fall, drawing a foul and tying the score in the process. After an intense block by Sheldon forced Kent State to call a timeout, Ohio gained a three-point lead on a Hadaway free throw and a field goal from Hunter, forcing Kent State to call another timeout. Brown kept the momentum going with a three-point jumper, his first of the game.
Kent State found themselves in foul trouble, giving Ohio the opportunity to pull further away from the free throw line. Hadaway increased the Bobcat lead by two, knocking down both bonus free throws. Kent State knocked down a three-point jumper to put the Golden Flashes down by one with 46 seconds left on the clock.
Ohio would respond. Brown sunk his second three-pointer in as many minutes, sending the Convo crowd into a frenzy. Kent State flashed down the court looking to close the gap, but Clayton soared and spiked the ball out of bounds for his third block of the game. Two more free throws from Hadaway grew the Ohio lead to six, and the Bobcats would not look back.
Up next, Ohio will travel to DeKalb, Ill. to take on the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday, Feb. 24. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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