FOLLOW OHIO MEN'S BASKETBALL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (3-6) took on rival Marshall (5-4) at the Convocation Center Saturday afternoon (Dec. 3), picking up its second-straight win with an 88-81 victory over the Herd.
"I thought we played with great energy tonight, building on the win the other night," Ohio head coach
Jeff Boals said. "A lot of people contributed throughout the course of the game in various ways tonight."
As a team, the Bobcats made a season-high 10 threes on 48.3% shooting from the field. On defense, Ohio recorded seven steals and two blocks while forcing Marshall into 12 turnovers. On the glass, the Bobcats grabbed 31 total rebounds, including 22 on defense.
The Bobcats were led by senior forward
Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.), who logged his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard
Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) recorded a team-leading 22 points and three assists, while fellow senior guard
Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) had a season-high 11 points and three threes. Redshirt junior forward
Javan Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) and freshman guard
JJ Kelly (Chambersburg, Pa.) were among five Bobcats to also tally double-digit points, with Simmons going for 13 and Kelly going for 12.
"I would say probably it's the best game we played so far on both ends of the floor," Paveletzke said. "It was kind of a high-scoring game, but I mean, that's what they do. They get on transition to play fast, so we just tried to limit their threes, and we did that tonight."
Hadaway got the Ohio offense going early, scoring each of the team's first 10 points, including two threes to take a 10-6 lead after the first five minutes. Despite a hot start by Hadaway, the Bobcats weren't able to pull away from Marshall midway through the first half.
Ohio traded baskets with Marshall for a majority of the first half, with neither team leading by more than four until three-straight defensive stops for the Bobcats resulted in a five-point lead with six minutes to play.
The Bobcats would extend their lead later in the half with a 7-0 run that was started by a three-point basket by Paveletzke. Some good defense also contributed to the lead, including a steal by sophomore guard
Elijah Elliott (Orlando, Fla.) during the full-court press that led to a wide-open score. With under four minutes to play in the half, Simmons bullied his way beneath the basket for a score with the foul to give Ohio three points and a 38-26 lead, its largest of the game to that point.
Marshall found success on offense in the final three minutes of the half, but Ohio still led 40-34 going into the halftime break.
Similar to the start of the first half, Hadaway was on fire to begin the second for the Bobcats. The senior forward knocked down two threes and scored eight points in the opening two minutes of the second half.
Like he has all season, Kelly made another highlight play in the second half when he threw down a highlight dunk while being fouled to convert a three-point play and extend the Ohio lead.
Marshall would cut the lead to as few as three points midway through the second half, but Ohio was able to limit any possible comeback attempt. Back-to-back Sheldon threes with under eight minutes to play put the Bobcats firmly back in the lead at 76-65.
The Bobcats pulled away down the stretch, extending their lead to as many as 16 after a steal on defense resulted in points from Hadaway and an 86-70 lead with just under three minutes to play.
Ohio would continue its dominance down the stretch to secure an 88-81 victory.
The Bobcats will be back in action next Saturday, Dec. 13, when they take on St. Bonaventure as a part of the Cleveland Hoops Showdown at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. and can be seen on PassThaBallLive.
#OUohyeah
