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ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio men's basketball team (5-6) returned to the Convocation Center Tuesday night (Dec. 16) for a matchup with Ohio Wesleyan (3-6). Four Bobcats recorded double figures to earn Ohio an 89-56 win.
"It's always good to play at home," Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said. "Your comfort level is big, your crowd is big, just the energy level. I thought tonight, without the band, dance, cheer, we had to kind of create our energy and we did that."
As a team, the Bobcats shot 58.1% from the field while making 36 shots and four threes. On defense, Ohio tallied 11 steals and a season-high nine blocks. On the glass, the Bobcats tied their season high with 44 total rebounds, including a season-best 36 defensive rebounds.
The Bobcats were led in scoring by senior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.), who recorded 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Redshirt freshman forward Kiir Kuany (Melbourne, Australia) recorded a career-high 17 points, with fellow freshman guard JJ Kelly (Chambersburg, Pa.) tying his career-high with 14 points. Redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) was the final of four Bobcats who recorded a double-digit scoring game with 12 points and five rebounds.
Hadaway got the Bobcats started with a layup assisted by Simmons, which would start a 7-0 run to start the game. Hadaway would contribute four of the team's first seven points to earn a 7-0 lead three minutes into the contest.
Ohio continued to build its lead in the first half by turning good defense into good offense. Through eight minutes, the Bobcats had already tallied 12 rebounds and three steals to take a 20-7 first-half lead.
The Bobcats continued to have success against Ohio Wesleyan, going on an 8-0 run that was highlighted by a turnaround jumper from sophomore guard Elijah Elliott (Orlando, Fla.) to extend the Ohio lead to 28-12 with just over eight minutes to play in the half.
One of Ohio's best plays of the night came towards the end of the first half when Hadaway got a steal on the defensive end, which led to a breakaway dunk by sophomore forward Ayden Evans (Radcliff, Ky.) on the other end.
Going into the half, the Bobcats were led by Hadaway with 12 points to contribute to a 43-31 lead.
Ohio came out hot in the second half with a block by Kelly on the team's first defensive possession, leading to a Hadaway layup on the team's first offensive possession. Another quick basket by senior guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) led to an early Ohio Wesleyan timeout and a 47-31 Ohio lead.
Ohio Wesleyan would not log its first points of the half until the Bobcats had completed a 7-0 run highlighted by a three-point jumper by Kelly to make it 50-31. Quickly after, Hadaway would make a three to give Ohio a 20-point lead, its largest of the game to that point.
The Bobcats would take an even bigger lead on another highlight play when Hadaway lobbed the ball to Kelly for a commanding dunk to take a 58-36 lead. That dunk would be part of an 11-0 run that gave Ohio a 64-36 lead.
In the game's final minutes, Ohio would continue to build its lead while Ohio Wesleyan had no answer. At the game's final buzzer, Ohio secured an 89-56 victory.
Ohio will be back at The Convocation Center this Saturday, Dec. 20, for its first Mid-American Conference matchup against Bowling Green. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN+. The game is the second game of a men's and women's basketball doubleheader, with the Ohio women's team set to take on St. Louis at 1 p.m. ET inside the Convo.
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