FOLLOW OHIO MEN'S BASKETBALL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (15-16, 9-9 MAC) played its final game in the Convocation Center for the 2025-26 season Friday night (March 6), hosting No. 19 Miami (31-0, 18-0 MAC) for another edition of the 'Battle of the Bricks'. The final could not be decided in regulation, as it went into overtime before Miami prevailed, 110-108.
"Our fans and our crowd were unbelievable," Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said. "The energy they brought was awesome all game. We want to shout out to all our students who stayed before leaving for spring break. It was a fun game to coach and a fun game to play. Obviously, we came up a little short, but give Miami credit."
Ohio made 37 field goals at a 48.7 percent rate. The team had one of its best three-point shooting nights, tying its season high with 14 on 43.8 percent shooting beyond the arc. The Bobcats tallied 33 rebounds and scored 12 buckets off assists.
Two different Bobcats recorded 30 or more points, with senior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wisc.) leading the way with a career-high 37 points. Paveletzke would also lead the team with six total assists. Redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) tallied exactly 30 points and led the team with nine rebounds. Senior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) recorded 20 points with five rebounds and a team-leading three blocks. Senior guard Dior Conners (Columbus, Ohio) also scored in double figures with 10 points and four rebounds.
On the Bobcats' first possession, Simmons set the Convocation Center crowd into a frenzy when he opened the scoring with a fadeaway jumper inside the paint. Simmons kept making highlight plays in the game's opening minutes as he recorded a steal and a three, each earning a roar from the home crowd.
Ohio took a 12-11 lead after Hadaway tallied an offensive rebound and found himself open from beyond the arc for a three. A little over two minutes later, Hadaway did the same, knocking down a three, this time to bring Ohio back to within one of the RedHawks at 16-15. Soon after, the lead swung back in the Bobcats' favor when Simmons powered his way to the basket for two.
The Bobcats and RedHawks traded baskets for a bulk of the first half, with neither being able to build a substantial lead. With seven minutes to play in the first half, the two were deadlocked at 25.
Miami built its lead to as many as 10 with under three to play in the half, but Ohio responded in a big way with Conners knocking down back-to-back threes to make it a 54-48 game at the half.
The RedHawks' lead grew to 11 early in the second half, but a three-pointer by Simmons, followed by a Paveletzke three-point play inside, brought the Bobcats and the crowd right back into the game. After a successful free-throw attempt, the Miami lead was just five at 61-56.
The Bobcats kept chipping away in the half, bringing the deficit all the way down to one point after Paveletzke converted two technical free throws and then hit a fadeaway jumper right after making it 68-67 Miami.
Another technical foul on Miami resulted in a big swing for Ohio as six points, including a three-pointer by senior guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio), were scored on one possession. With just under 10 to play, the Bobcats trailed 79-73.
A flagrant foul on Miami followed by a shooting foul on the same possession allowed Ohio to bring the score once again to one possession at 79-76.
Ohio didn't let Miami pull away after bringing it all the way back from double digits. At the under-eight media timeout, the Bobcats trailed the RedHawks by three at 86-83. Moments later, the Bobcats tied the game at 88 when Sheldon hit a deep three, assisted by Hadaway, his second three of the half.
With 2:17 to play in the game, Paveletzke eclipsed his career high after hitting a huge three to cut the lead to just one at 97-96, his 31st points of the game.
With 40 seconds to play, Paveletzke found Simmons underneath the basket for an emphatic dunk to tie the game at 100.
Neither team scored on its final possession as the game was forced into overtime.
Paveletzke dribbled his way into the paint and converted on a layup to open the overtime scoring. After Miami built its lead to three, Paveletzke did it again – getting to the hoop for two and putting the Bobcats back within one at 107-106. The RedHawks scored three-straight from the free-throw line in the final minute of the overtime period, which put them in the lead at 110-108 with under five seconds to play. Paveletzke got a final shot attempt up, but it was no good.
Up next, the Bobcats head to Cleveland, Ohio, for the 2026 Mid-American Conference Tournament, March 12-14, inside Rocket Arena. The No. 6 seeded Bobcats will take on the No. 3 seeded Kent State on Thursday, March 12 in the final game of the day, at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
#OUohyeah
