KENT, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (13-12, 7-5 MAC) returned to action Friday night (Feb. 14) falling to Kent State (17-6, 7-5 MAC), 76-75, in a physical battle inside the M.A.C. Center. 

Overall, Ohio shot 51.9 percent from the field, 42.3 percent from three and were 10-of-13 from the line, while Kent State shot 46.3 percent from the field, 35.3 percent from three and were 20-of-23 from the line. Kent State outrebounded the Bobcats, 34-21, while Ohio dished out 15 assists to the Flashes' 10. Meanwhile, Ohio forced 13 turnovers, scoring 13 pints off them, while Kent State forced 11 turnovers, scoring 16 points off them. 

Individually, the Bobcats were led by graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) with 25 points, going 9-of-14 from the field, 4-of-6 from three and 3-of-3 from the line, while junior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) added 12 points two rebounds and five assists. Junior guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) added 12 points, going 4-of-9 from the field, 2-of-5 from three and 2-of-2 from the line, Freshman guard Elijah Elliott (Orlando, Fla.) recorded five points, six assists and dished out five assists, while redshirt sophomore guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) had nine points and graduate student forward Vic Searls (Hilliard, Ohio) had seven points and six rebounds. 

Ohio won the tip and took an early 6-0 lead on back-to-back threes from Brown and senior forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio). After Kent State cut the lead in half with a three, a driving layup and a three from Mitchell helped give the Bobcats a 13-6 lead going into the first media timeout.  Out of the break, Ohio added on, with jumpers from James and Paveletzke. After Kent State cut the Ohio lead 19-12, a three from Mitchell gave the Bobcats a 10-point lead. After a 4-0 run from the Flashes, a three from James put the Bobcats up 25-16 with 11:41 remaining in the first half. 

Out of the break, Kent State responded with a jumper before a four-point play from Paveletzke put the Bobcats up 11. However, Kent State went on a 7-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to four, forcing Ohio to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Mitchell responded with a driving layup, however the Flashes canceled it out layup of their own, cutting the lead to 31-27 with 8:11 remaining in the half. 

Out of the break, back-to-back threes from Kent State gave the Flashes their first lead of the game. However, back-to-back layups from James and Searls put Ohio back up two. After the Flashes matched it with a three, Brown responded with his second three of the night to give Ohio a two-point lead headed into the final media timeout of the half.

Out of the timeout, free throws from Kent State tied the game back up at 38-38. After the two teams traded baskets to keep the game tied at 40-40, Kent State went on a 4-0 run over the final 90 seconds to take a 44-40 lead into halftime. 

At the half, Ohio shot 61.5 percent from the field, went 7-of-14 from three and were 1-of-1 from the line, while Kent State shot 53.3 percent from three field, were 6-of-11 from three and went 6-of-7 from the line. Kent State outrebounded Ohio 15-10, while Ohio dished out 11 assists to the Flashes' nine. Kent State forced five Ohio turnovers and scored 10 points off them, while Ohio scored two off three Kent State turnovers. 

The Bobcats opened the half with jumper from Clayton and a three from Brown to take a one-point lead early in the half. Moments later, the two teams traded baskets, with Kent State taking a 48-47 lead into the first media timeout. Out of the break, Kent State went up five, however, a 7-0 run from the Bobcats put Ohio back up two with 11:40 to go in the game. After the Flashes retook the lead, a three from Mitchell put the Bobcats back up two. However, a quick four-point run from Kent State put the Flashes back up two with 8:35 remaining. 

The two teams continued to trade free throws before Kent State once again took a two-point lead, before a free throw from Elliott cut the deficit to one entering the final media timeout. Out of the break, free throws from Mitchell put Ohio up one, before a corner three from James gave the Bobcats a four-point lead moments later. However, Kent State matchup it with a jumper, cutting the Ohio lead to 70-68 with 1:45 to go in the game.

After a missed three from the Bobcats, Kent State responded with a three-point play to once again take a one-point lead with under a minute to go. After Kent State took a four-point lead, and offensive rebound and a layup from Searls cut the deficit to two with just 9.4 seconds remaining. After two more free throws from Kent State put the Flashes up four, the Bobcats thundered down the court with Mitchell hitting a pull up jumper to cut the deficit to two. After a Kent State turnover on the inbound with a little over two seconds remaining, Mitchell was to get the final shot off, just missing a three as time expires, giving Kent State the 76-75 victory. 

For Kent State. The Flashes were led by Cian Medley with 24 points, followed by Jalen Sullinger with 18 points. 

Up next, the Bobcats return to Athens on Tuesday, Feb. 18 when Ohio hosts Central Michigan. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN+. 

#OUohyeah