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[Grayson Wolf | WOUB]

Hadaway scores career-high 20 points in 85-67 victory over Eastern Michigan

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio (9-9, 3-3 MAC) makes it two straight at home and gets back to .500 with a 85-67 win over the Eastern Michigan Eagles (8-10, 1-5 MAC).

Ohio came into the Convocation Center with momentum on their side after a 73-61 victory over Central Michigan. Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan is coming off three straight losses as they were hoping to rebound from the late January slump. 

The start of the game was a back-and-forth contest, but quickly after nine minutes of play, Ohio were on fire.

Ohio guard Jaylin Hunter (12) dunks the ball against the Eastern Michigan Eagles.
Ohio guard Jaylin Hunter (12) dunks the ball against the Eastern Michigan Eagles. [Conor Mallonn | WOUB]
The baskets were coming down from the paint and behind the arc with the Eagles not giving much opposition to keep up. In total, the Bobcats shot 56% from the field and 47% from the 3-point line.

As for the Ohio defense, it was successful in causing missed shots and using the fast break transition to its advantage. The Bobcats scored 14 points on fast breaks and 22 points off turnovers. 

Sophomore Aidan Hadaway had a career night scoring a career-high of 20 points. Hadaway credits his patience as one of the strong points for his record performance, but says there is still room for improvement. 

“I just let the game come to me,” he said. “I didn’t force anything. At the end, I struggled a little bit, so I need to lock in for 40 minutes. So, it just came to me.” 

Three other Ohio players scored in double digits with both Jaylin Hunter and Shereef Mitchell scoring 14 points, and AJ Clayton scoring 11. For Eastern Michigan, Tyson Acuff scored 30 points for the fourth time this year.

With this win Ohio swept their two-game home stand and will be on the road for the upcoming week. Its next opponent, the Akron Zips, (14-4, 6-0 MAC) are placed 1st in the Mid-American Conference and could be a test for the Bobcats. 

Head Coach Jeff Boals said that the process is game-to-game, day by day, and then back to a game-to-game is the focus the team has been taking care of to prepare for their matchups. 

“I think the big thing is what do we do from the next game,” he said. “We need to know what our mindset is like and our preparation because I think moving forward, that’s the way it has to be.”

Ohio’s next game against Akron takes place on Jan 23.