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ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio men's basketball team (16-14, 10-7 MAC) fell 83-76 to the Eastern Michigan (16-14, 9-8 MAC) in The Convo on Tuesday night (March 4). Ohio celebrated the team's graduates before tip-off, graduate students
Vic Searls (Hilliard, Ohio) and
Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.), as well as senior
AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio).
"I just want to thank Athens. It's bittersweet that we didn't get the win, but at the same time, I've had a lot of good memories here," Mitchell said.
Overall, Ohio shot 43.6% from the field, 39.1% from three-point range and was 22-of-29 from the line. Eastern Michigan shot 51.7% from the field, 40% from beyond the arc and was 17-of-19 from the line. Eastern Michigan out-rebounded Ohio 35 to 28, but Ohio forced 13 turnovers and scored 14 points off them.
Individually, junior guard
Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) led Ohio with 20 points, going 8-of-9 from the field and 3-of-3 beyond the arc. He also earned his 1000th career point off of a buzzer-beater to tie the game before halftime. Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) added 17 points, going 4-of-17 from the field and 8-of-10 at the line. Junior guard
Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) added 11 points and five rebounds, while Searls (Hilliard, Ohio) contributed 10 points.
Eastern Michigan sunk a basket from beyond the arc to get on the board first, and it took Ohio almost two minutes of play to get on the scoreboard. Ohio did not score for another almost three minutes of play after James lobbed in a layup until he went 2-of-2 at the line after drawing a foul.
The Eagles gained a 12-point lead with 10 minutes left on the clock, but Paveletzke sank a 3-pointer to help close the score gap. The Bobcats' defense kept the Eagles from scoring by forcing them into a two-minute scoring drought. However, the Eagles retained their lead. An exciting steal and driving layup by junior guard
Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) put the Bobcats behind the Eagles by six points, forcing the Eagles to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Mitchell immediately snagged a steal and sank a 3-pointer. Both teams traded baskets to keep Ohio behind by three points, but Paveletzke's 1000th point tied the game at the half.
Eastern Michigan opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers, but 3-pointers from James and Clayton tied the score again.
"We spent so much energy to get back into it that first half, to tie it, we had to really set the tone the second half," head coach
Jeff Boals said.
With just under seven minutes left, Eastern Michigan held an eight-point lead. Ohio entered another scoring drought for almost two minutes of play but it ended on a free throw from Searls and a second-chance basket from Mitchell. Ohio played aggressive defense to keep Eastern Michigan off the scoreboard, forcing a two-minute scoring drought with less than three minutes on the board.
A 3-pointer from Clayton and a layup by Paveletzke left Ohio trailing by seven with 47 seconds left on the clock. Sheldon sank a 3-pointer to bring the deficit down, however Eastern Michigan went 2-of-2 at the line to secure their space.
Eastern Michigan was led by Christian Henry with 21 points, while Da'Sean Nelson had 14.
Up next, Ohio closes out the 2024-25 regular season on Friday, March 7 when the Bobcats head to Toledo, Ohio to take on the Rockets. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET inside Savage Arena and can be seen on ESPN+.
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