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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (1-1) rebounded Thursday night (Nov. 6), defeating Illinois State (0-1) in comeback fashion, 72-68, inside the Convocation Center. 

Overall, Ohio shot 51 percent from the field, went 1-of-8 from three and 15-of-27 from the line, while Illinois State shot 44 percent from the field, 31 percent from three and were 6-of-11 from the line. Illinois State out-rebounded Ohio, 36-35, while the Bobcats forced 11 turnovers and scored 17 points off them. Ohio also dished out 11 assists and scored 50 points in the paint. 

Individually, the Bobcats were lead by senior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) with 19 points, going 7-of-12 from the field and 5-of-8 from the line, while dishing out six assists. Redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) added 16 points and three boards, while redshirt senior forward Jalen Breath (Oklahoma City, Okla.) contributed 14 points, four rebounds and one block off the bench. Senior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while senior guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) grabbed six. 

I thought our guys came out with a great mindset after our loss Monday," head coach Jeff Boals said."The preparation and turnaround against a really good team that's a top-five mid-major teams and Chase Walker was preseason player of the year. I thought our bigs did a really good job on him and we set the tone yearly in the game. I had to call that early timeout in the second half and our guys responded the right way and finished the game." 

The Bobcats opened the game with the first six points before the Redbirds got on the board with free throws. Moments later, Hadaway countered with a step-back jumper to put Ohio up 8-2 going into the first media timeout. Out of the break, a three-point play from Breath extended Ohio's lead, before Illinois State recorded their first field goal of the game with 14:07 left in the first half. After a three-point play from Paveletzke put the Bobcats up nine, a thundering dunk from redshirt freshman forward Kiir Kuany (Melbourne, Australia) put Ohio up 18-7, before ISU stopped the 5-0 run with a three to cut the Ohio lead to 18-10 with 10:53 remaining in the half.
 
After back-to-back threes from ISU cut the Ohio lead to one with 4:15 left in the half, a driving layup from Breath put Ohio back up 28-25 going into the final media timeout. Out of the timeout, the two teams traded baskets, with the Redbirds tying the game at 31-31 with 44 seconds to go in the half. The Bobcats were able to get a stop on the defensive end at the buzzer to send the game into the half tied at 31-31. 

At the half, Ohio shot 44 percent from the field, were 0-6 from three and 7-of-13 from the line, while Illinois State shot 40 percent from the field, 31 percent from three and were 3-of-4 from the line. ISU out-rebounded Ohio 22-13, while the Bobcats forced eight Redbird turnovers, scoring 13 points off them. 

Paveletzke led Ohio in scoring at the half with eight points, followed by Simmons with six and Hadaway with four boards. 



ISU opened the second half with a 5-0 run before a steal and a layup from Hadaway stopped the run. However, a moment later, another three from ISU put the Redbirds up eight, forcing Ohio to call a timeout with 17:24 left in the game. Out of the timeout, Ohio went on a 4-0 run with baskets from Simmons and Hadaway to cut the deficit to four, before a jumper from ISU out the Redbird s up 43-37 at the under-16 media timeout. The two teams traded baskets, with Breath going on a nine-point run to cut the ISU lead to three before a driving layup from Simmons cut the Ohio deficit to one with 11:15 remaining.

Out of the break, a driving layup from freshman guard JJ Kelly (Chambersburg, Pa.) - who played 23 minutes and grabbed four crucial boards - gave the Bobcats the lead back with just over 11 minutes remaining. The Bobcats' offense began to click with back-to-back layups from Paveletzke and Simmons, before senior guard Dior Conners (Columbus, Ohio) drained a three – the Bobcats' first of the night – to help give the Bobcats the 58-55 lead with 6:57 remaining in the game. 

Out of the break, free throw from Simmons and a driving layup from Paveletzke increased the Ohio lead to seven, ISU cut the Ohio lead to four, but Paveletzke countered with a pull up jumper to stop the run. Moments later, a three from ISU cut the Ohio lead down to three, but a 5-0 run from the Bobcats put Ohio up eight with 1:18 remaining. After the two teams traded baskets over the final minute, Illinois State hit a three with two seconds remaining, but the Bobcats would go on to secure the 72-68 victory.

"Proud of our guys,"Boals said "I thought it was a great team effort and our bench was really good and gave great minutes."

Up next, the Bobcats head out west on Tuesday, Nov. 11 when Ohio travels to Moraga, Calif. to take on Saint Mary's. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN+.

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