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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. –  The Ohio men's basketball team (7-6, 1-0 MAC) opened Mid-American Conference play on Saturday night (Jan. 4), defeating Central Michigan (6-7, 0-1 MAC), 57-55, inside McGurik Arena. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 43.6 percent from the field, 21.7 percent from three and were 4-of-10 from the line, while CMU shot 32.8 percent from the field, 13.3 percent from three and were 13-of-16 from the line. CMU outrebounded the Bobcats, 42-28, while Ohio dished out 14 assists to CMU's five. Ohio also forced 14 turnovers and recorded 10 steals, scoring 15 points off those turnovers. 
 
Individually, redshirt sophomore guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) led Ohio with 14 points, going 4-of-7 from three, while grabbing four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wisc.) added 11 points, going 5-of-8 from the field with four rebounds and five assists, while senior forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) added six points, seven rebounds and four blocks. 
 
Central Michigan won the tip and got on the board first with a jumper. Ohio went to tie the game up with a driving layup from Brown. After CMU took a 6-4 lead, Ohio cut the deficit to two, but a 4-0 run put the Chippewas up 10-4 entering the first media timeout. Out of the break, a jumper from Paveletzke cut the deficit to four. After a technical was called on the CMU bench, free throws from Clayton and a driving layup from junior guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) cut the deficit to 12-10 with 11:47 remaining in the half. 
 
Out of the break, the Bobcats took advantage of strong defensive plays starting with a Brown three, a Sheldon driving layup and a graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) steal and Clayton dunk, putting Ohio up 17-12 and forcing a CMU timeout with 10 minutes remaining in the half. Out of the timeout, CMU stopped the run, but the Bobcats matched it with a layup from Clayton and back-to-back threes from Brown, putting Ohio up 25-19 going into the under-eight media timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, a Paveletzke layup and a dunk from junior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) put the Bobcats up 10 with under five minutes to go. However, four-straight points from CMU cut the lead to 29-23 entering the final media timeout of the half. Out of the break, back-to-back layups from Mitchell and Paveletzke put Ohio back up 10, however, five-straight point from CMU cut the lead to five. But with 30 seconds left, Mitchell was able to connect on a driving layup, putting Ohio up 35-28 entering the half. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 51.7 percent from the field, 21.4 percent from three and were 2-of-4 from the line, while CMU shot 37.5 percent from the field, 11.1 percent from three and were 3-of-4 from the line. CMU outrebounded Ohio, 19-13, but the Bobcats dished out 11 assists to CMU's three and forced eight turnovers, while scoring 11 points off them. 
 
Ohio opened the half with a free throw from Brown. After CMU cut the Ohio lead to five, a layup from Hadaway put the Bobcats back up seven. However, moments later, a three from CMU cut the Bobcats lead to four entering the first media timeout of the half.  Out of the break, a 6-0 run from CMU put the Chippewas up two. However, a moment later, a driving layup from Sheldon stopped the run and tied the game at 40-40. After CMU retook the lead, back-to-back layups from graduate student forward Vic Searls (Hilliard, Ohio) gave the Bobcats a 44-42 lead with 11:10 remaining in the game.
 
Out of the break, the Bobcats took advantage once again of strong defensive possessions, capitalizing with a layup from Searls, a jumper from James and a three from Paveletzke to give Ohio a 51-44 lead with 8:17 remaining in the game. Out of the break, a three from Brown put Ohio back up 10 entering the under-eight media timeout. Out of the break, CMU recorded back-to-back jumper to cut the Ohio lead back to six going into the final media timeout. 
 
After CMU cut the Ohio lead to four with free throws, a driving layup from Mitchell put the Bobcats back up six. However, three more free throws from CMU cut the Bobcats lead to 56-53 with two minutes to go. After two missed free throws from the Bobcats, CMU would drive down the floor and capitalize on a second-chance layup, cutting the Ohio lead to one with 45 seconds to go. 
 
After an Ohio turnover and then a steal from Brown, the Bobcats got a free throw from Brown to give Ohio a one-point lead with eight seconds to go. On the ensuing possession, CMU was able to get a shot off at the buzzer, however it was off target and the Bobcats would secure the 57-55 win. 
 
For CMU, Anthony Pritchard led with 13 points and one assist, while Ugnius Jarusevicius added 11 points and 11 rebounds. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats head to Buffalo, N.Y. on Tuesday, Jan. 7 to take on Buffalo. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Alumni Arena and can be seen on ESPN+. 
 
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