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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (12-11, 6-4 MAC) could not overcome a slow second-half shooting performance, falling to Appalachian State (15-9, 8-4 SBC) 72-59 inside the Convocation Center Saturday afternoon (Feb. 8) in the second game of this year's MAC-SBC Challenge.  
 
Overall, Ohio shot 42.1 percent from the field, 17.4 percent from three and were 7-of-9 from the line, while App State shot 48.1 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from three and were 14-of-20 from the line. Both teams recorded 31 rebounds, while App State dished out 11 assists to Ohio's nine. Both teams finished the game with nine turnovers and three assists each. 
 
Ohio was led by redshirt sophomore guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) with 18 points, going 7-of-15 from the field, 3-of-4 from the line, while adding six rebounds, one assist and one steal. Junior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) continued his strong stretch of game, with 12 points, three assists and six rebounds. Freshman guard Elijah Elliott (Orlando, Fla.) added a career-high 14 points, going 5-of-8 from the field, 2-of-2 from three, while grabbing three rebounds, and graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) added 11 points and four rebounds.  
 
App State won the tip and got on the board first with a jumper, before a play by Paveletzke and Brown knotted the game at2-2 early on. The two teams traded baskets for most of the half. After App State took a five-point lead with 7:15 remaining in the half, a three from Mitchell started an 8-0 run for the Bobcats, putting the Bobcats up three with 4:26 to go.  
 
With 3:17 left on the clock, a jumper by the Mountaineers tied the game and called a 30-second timeout. Out of the timeout, a layup from Paveletzke and four-straight from Brown, capped Ohio's 6-0 run to put the Bobcats up, 34-28 headed into halftime. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 53.8 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from three and ere 4-of-5 from the line, while App State shot 40.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and were 3-of-5 from the line. 


 
App State opened the second half on a 9-2 run to take a one-point lead, forcing Ohio to burn a timeout three minutes into the half. Out of the timeout, the Bobcats and Mountaineers traded baskets and the lead over the six minutes. However, after the game was tied at 44-44, the Bobcats would go on a six-minute scoring drought, allowing App State to take a 13-point lead before a jumper from Mitchell stopped the run with 6:25 remaining. 
 
Unfortunately, despite two threes from Elliott late in the half, the Bobcats were unable to bounce back the way they had in the first period, ultimately falling, 72-59. 
 
App State was led by senior guard Myles Tate (Spartanburg, S.C.) with a game-high 27 points, five rebounds, and seven assists.   
 
The Bobcats will be back in action on Feb. 11 against Bowling Green in Bowling Green, Ohio. This match is set for 7 p.m. inside the Stroh Center and is available on ESPN+. 
 
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