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ATHENS, Ohio — After an explosive second half, the Ohio men's basketball team defeated Ball State in The Convocation Center, 86-71, Tuesday night (January 14). 

The Bobcats (10-6, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) had a cold start in the first half, but once senior guard AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) made a free throw, they were rolling. They went on a 10-0 run to take a five-point lead. The Cardinals (8-8, 2-2 MAC) quickly tied the game after that, but the Bobcats didn't let them stay close for long. 

Dunks from junior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) and redshirt sophomore guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) highlighted Ohio's reclamation of the lead. After that, Ohio went on a 7-0 run as Ball State fell into a scoring drought that lasted more than four minutes.

Tuesday was the second-straight game Ohio held a lead the majority of the time. 

"If you look at those prior games, right, we've gotten off to slow starts, and that's something that we really talked about, getting off to a good start just to build momentum and not give confidence. Even in the second half, one of our goals is to make the other team call time out by making a run. We did that tonight, and these starts that we've had have been," head coach Jeff Boals said. 

Ohio closed out the first half with a 10-point lead and a buzzer-beater by Brown. 

Hadaway ended up leading the Bobcats in scoring alongside junior forward Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.). The two had 15 points each, with 13 of Paveletzke's coming in the second half. They also both lead the Bobcats in rebounds with five each. Paveletzke's five assists made him was the lone leader – his sixth game in the past seven with five or more. 

The Cardinals couldn't quite crack the Bobcats' lead through the second half, with the Bobcats leading by 14 points with four minutes off the clock. Even while they were in a scoring drought – which graduate student Vic Searls (Hilliard, Ohio) broke on a dunk — the Bobcats maintained a healthy advantage. 

Part of that was the defense's prowess. The Bobcats kept the ball in their hands all second half, with the help of three steals by graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.). Hadaway, Clayton, Searls and freshman guard Elijah Elliott (Orlando, Fla.) also had steals in the second half. 

"Elijah, he's probably most athletic player on the team," Hadaway said. "He hasn't had a chance to showcase his athleticism yet it was good seeing him get up and get one."

The Bobcats reached their peak in the final minutes of the second half, eclipsing a 17-point lead multiple times. 

Ohio finished the game 34-for-62 from the field (54.8%), marking the fifth time in the last six games it notched a 50% or above. It also had a decent day from the line at 10-for-16. 

"It's a great job by guys sharing a basketball. They're a selfless group. They've been doing that all year long, and that's how you win games," Boals said. 

Ohio will be back in action on Friday night at Akron. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. and the game can be viewed on CBS Sports Network. 

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