Sports

Ohio Men’s Basketball crushes Muskingum, 103-52, in final game before MAC play

By: Marc Goldstein
Posted on: Tuesday, December 31, 2024

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — There are times in a season when a team needs to win a blowout. It doesn’t matter the opponent, venue, or optics of it, but a large margin of victory can be a necessity. That could be argued for Ohio (6-6) as it attempts to gear up for Mid-American Conference play once the calendar flips to 2025. Ohio defeated Muskingum (5-5, 3-0 OAC), a Division III program, 103-52, at The Convo after taking nearly two weeks off between games. 

The Bobcats looked like they had taken some time off during the holidays in the opening minutes of the contest. The Fighting Muskies jumped out to an 11-6 lead just over four minutes into the game, punctuated by a three by Owen Ewig. With six of those opening 11 points coming from the Fighting Muskies’ leading scorer, Duane Davis, the Bobcats needed to increase the defensive pressure to restore order. 

That would be exactly what occurred as Ohio welcomed Shereef Mitchell off the bench with a three of his own. That shot from Mitchell was likely a grand thing for him as he made a field goal for the first time in over a month as he has gotten eased back into the lineup following an injury. Mitchell was not the only Ohio player to get it going off the bench as Vic Searls got himself four quick points. Ohio would retake the lead on a layup by Mitchell and would not trail again for the rest of the game. 

Jackson Paveletzke would follow that layup with a basket of his own in the paint, something that Ohio would repeatedly do in the first half. After the score was tied at 13 apiece, Ohio went on a 12-2 run to make it 25-15. During that run, all six of the field goals were from within the three-point line, a rarity for Ohio this season. Regardless, Ohio began to run away with the game, as expected. With the score sitting at 32-18, the teams would both endure scoreless droughts spanning multiple minutes. The drought lasted for 2:49 for both teams and 3:17 for Ohio. 

Drought or not, Ohio was getting everything it wanted in the paint in the first half. Outside of a pair of threes late in the first half by AJ Brown, Ohio did nearly all of its damage from close range in the first half. Ohio would shoot fewer threes than Muskingum in the first half, but, on the same number of attempts, would make 10 more field goals. After shooting an even 70% from the field in the first half, the score standing at 48-25 should not be surprising in the least. 

The second half was when the Bobcats launched a three-point barrage on the Fighting Muskies. Paveletzke got four points to open the half before the long-range party started. Elmore James IV, Mitchell, Aidan Hadaway, Ajay Sheldon, and AJ Clayton all sank trifectas while the advantage for the Bobcats ballooned up to 76-37 at the 11:26 mark. The long-range game ended any sort of hope for the game to be even remotely competitive. However, the expectation for the Bobcats in a game like this is to get an easy win over an inferior opponent. 

From there, the game was left to the reserves for Ohio. Ben Nicol was able to score his first collegiate points on a three and Elijah Elliott logged some strong minutes in the twilight of the game. Ohio would breach the century mark on a layup by Nicol with 30 seconds remaining, scoring 100 for the first time in over a year. 

The win for Ohio did not prove anything that was already unknown: this team has the talent and firepower to make some noise in the MAC, but consistency must be found for that potential to be realized. Moreover, Ohio starts its conference slate with two road games at Central Michigan and Buffalo. Regardless of the travel early in conference play, Ohio’s strong play leading up to MAC play, winning four of its last five games, should give it the confidence it needs to go on the road in its quest for a conference title.