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[Grant Kiefer | WOUB]

New roles, no problem, Ohio survives with thrilling win over Kent State

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – It had been a tough week for the Ohio men’s basketball program. A pair of road losses to Akron and Eastern Michigan plus two major injuries to starters.

“In 30 years, I’ve never had a 10 day stretch like this,” Jeff Boals said Thursday.

That stretch had Ohio (11-8, 5-2 MAC) entering Friday’s game with Kent State (12-7, 3-4 MAC) limping. But the Bobcats fought through a whirlwind week and pulled out a gutsy 61-59 win.

The theme of the night was players shifting into new roles. Freshman guard Elijah Elliot made his first career start and Vic Searls made his first start with the Bobcats. Both stepped in to fill the absences of AJ Clayton and Aidan Hadaway.

“Vic was in a different role; we needed more out of him, and he delivered. Elijah Elliott is in a different role; we needed more, he delivered,” Boals said.

Another point Boals made was that Ohio needed a good start. And that’s exactly what they did. AJ Brown began with four made free throws putting the Bobcats ahead 4-0 early. Defensively, the start was just as strong. Ohio made everything tough for Kent State leading to a 0/4 start from the field with three turnovers.

AJ Brown slicing through Kent State's defense in Ohio's 61-59 win.
AJ Brown slicing through Kent State’s defense in Ohio’s 61-59 win. [HG Biggs | WOUB Public Media]

A Jackson Paveletzke layup capped a 6-0 lead in the opening minutes for the Bobcats. However, the strong start Boals got didn’t last for long.

The Golden Flashes began to apply pressure and tilt the game back in their favor. Marquis Barnett knocked down the first shot of the game for KSU, and his role would only grow, more on that later.

Kent State kept control of the momentum and won the 50/50 balls leading to an extended run of 22-9. That run was punctuated by a Cian Medley jumper that put the Golden Flashes ahead 22-15.

Midway through the opening 20 minutes, Shereef Mitchell found Ohio’s first three of the night. After that point the two settled into a defensive battle that progressed as the game went on.

Late in the first half Elliott drew a charge, one of the many winning plays he made.

“He definitely came up big for us,” Ohio guard AJ Brown said. “He showed us that he could play with the big boys, and he’s ready for this time.”

Elliott was a part of the committee guarding Kent State’s top weapon, and the MAC’s sixth leading scorer, VonCameron Davis. The Bobcats held Davis to 13 points on 5/10 from the field.

Brown finished the first half with a pair of big plays that gave Ohio a slim lead. He buried a triple and then added a free throw. The Bobcats were clinging onto a 28-27 lead, but as the buzzer sounded ending the first half, Barnett tipped in a second chance shot to re-take the lead for the Golden Flashes.

Three minutes into the second half, the weight of Elliott’s performance grew dramatically. He first had a second-chance layup, plus added a free throw on the and-one. Then Elliott grabbed a defensive rebound through a handful of Kent State players and ultimately turned it into a score for Searls.

Just as the first half had started strong, the second half did as well. But Kent State persisted and remained right with Ohio on the scoreboard. The physicality of the game also ramped up significantly with an abundance of fouls being called.

One of the turnings points the game had during its wild last 10 minutes. Mitchell pulled the Bobcats out of an offensive funk with a transition triple. He followed it up with a steal and drew a foul that he cashed two free throws in on.

With 7:59 to play, Ohio led 47-44.

A few minutes later, Kent State took a turn making a big shot as Davis picked his team up and made a game-tying shot.

Ohio trailed 57-54 with 2:39 to play, and although the momentum was all with Kent State, there was no quit in Ohio.

The Bobcats forced a backcourt turnover on the Golden Flashes and after a Paveletzke three, went from down three to up two. The chaos of the final two minutes then ensued.

Kent State cut the Ohio lead to just 59-58 with a free throw. Paveletzke came through again with a pair of shots from the charity stripe.

A 61-58 lead with 1:08 to play didn’t seem like it was enough, but it was. Barnett, after being fouled on a three-point attempt, had a chance to even the game on the free throw line.

Jeff Boals celebrating Ohio's performance against Kent State.
Jeff Boals celebrating Ohio’s performance against Kent State. [HG Biggs | WOUB Public Media]

Staring down a Convocation Center crowd that was as loud and rowdy as they had been all year, Barnett only made one of the three and Ohio held on to win.

“We fought for that one, and it wasn’t pretty, but we got it done,” a relieved Jackson Paveletzke said.

After losing two starters, after a very tough week, after losing the rebounding battle 46-28, after getting knocked down, after holding Kent State without a field goal over the last 2:49, Ohio rallied.

“[It] got a little crazy at the end with the late game situation, but our guys never quit,” Boals said. “And like I said, they found a way.”

This new-look Ohio team now has a first win under their belt, but the road is far from over. The Bobcats go right back to work as they’ll host Toledo on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.