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YPSILANTI, Mich. – Despite being down 20 points early in the second half, the Ohio men's basketball team (8-7, 2-1 MAC) battled the entire way back Saturday afternoon (Jan. 3), with senior guard Jackson Paveletzke hitting the game-winning three as time expired against Eastern Michigan (7-8, 1-2 MAC) to send the Bobcats back to Athens with the 68-67 win. 

With five seconds to go and with Eastern Michigan up two, the Eagles missed two free throws setting up a defensive rebound from senior forward Aidan Hadaway, and the Bobcats stormed down the court, Paveletzke pulled up with 0.2 seconds remaining with two EMU players in his face, draining the basket at the buzzer for the Ohio win. 

Overall, Ohio shot 43 percent from the field, 26 percent from three and were 11-of-15 from the line, while Eastern Michigan shot 40 percent from the field, 44 percent from three and were 18-of-27 from the line. EMU outrebounded the Bobcats, 38-35, while the Bobcats recorded seven steals, forced 11 turnovers and dished out nine assists. 

Redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) led the Bobcats with 15 points, going 5-of-11 from the field and 5-of-7 from the line. He also added six rebounds in the win. Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) added 14 points, going 5-of-11 from the field, 2-of-5 from three and 2-of-2 from the line, while Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) added 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) added nine points, three three-pointers and five rebounds, while sophomore guard Elijah Elliott (Orlando, Fla.) scored six points and had three rebounds and redshirt freshman guard Jesse Burris (Delaware, Ohio) added five points. 

The Bobcats got on the board first with a layup from Simmons, before EMU went on a 7-0 run to take a 9-2 lead with under 15 minutes to play in the half. After EMU went up 10, a layup from redshirt freshman forward Kiir Kuany (Melbourne, Australia) stopped the run from the Eagles to cut the deficit to eight at the under-12 media timeout. The Ohio offense was unable to get in a flow out of the break, before a three from Burris stopped the Ohio scoring drought going into the final media timeout. Out of the timeout, EMU capitalized on free throws, taking a 32-15 lead into the break. 

At the half, Ohio shot 24 percent from the field, seven percent from three and were 2-of-3 three from the line, while EMU shot 36 percent from the field, 25 percent from three and were 12-of-14 from the line. EMU outrebounded Ohio, 22-15 and forced nine Ohio turnovers, scoring 11 points off them. 

EMU opened the half with a three, however, a 7-0 run from the Bobcats with a three from Sheldon cut the Ohio deficit down to 13 early in the half. After the two teams traded baskets and free throws, back-to-back threes from Sheldon cut deficit to 42-34 with 15 minutes to go in the game. Ohio continued to chip away, with a three-point play from Simmons and a driving layup from Elliott cutting the Ohio deficit to six. However, EMU countered with a three to take a 52-43 lead going into the ender-12 media timeout. 

After EMU took a nine-point lead, the Bobcats kept chipping away. After a layup from Hadaway, five-straight points from Simmons followed by a three from Paveletzke gave the Bobcats their first lead since the opening minutes of the game with just over six minutes to go. A free throw from Simmons put Ohio up two, before a four-point run from EMU put the Eagles back up two going into the final media timeout. 

Out of the timeout, a three from Hadaway cut the deficit to one before a three from EMU put the Eagles back up five, however Paveletzke connected on a floater, cutting the EMU lead to three with under a minute to go. After another basket from Paveletzke cut the deficit to two, the Bobcats fouled with five seconds to go. EMU went on to miss both free throws, allowing Hadaway to get the rebound, setting up Paveletzke dto rain the three as time expired to send the Bobcats home with the 68-67 win. 

Up next, the Bobcats are back in Athens on Tuesday, Jan. 6 when Ohio hosts new MAC member UMass. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on CBS Sports Network. 

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