Sports
Paveletzke’s strong performance not enough, Ohio falls opening-round
By: Andrew Bowlby
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CONWAY, S.C. (WOUB) – Ohio (1-4) and Middle Tennessee State (4-1) had met two times during in-season tournaments coming into Thursday’s matchup. One of which was a seventh-place game in the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational.
In the 2024 Myrtle Beach Invite the Bobcats and Blue Raiders fought through early offensive struggles and delivered a thrilling overtime game that MTSU took 83-81.
For the third-consecutive game, Ohio would be without guard Shereef Mitchell. Head coach Jeff Boals confirmed postgame Mitchell is nursing a day-to-day injury.
Ohio made it a point of emphasis early to find backdoor cuts. The Bobcats had some success in the opening minutes to find lanes and pay it off. However, Middle Tennessee began to shut those opportunities down.
Elmore James knocked down a pair of threes, both in transition and assisted by Jackson Paveletzke. Through the first 5:30 minutes, the Bobcats held a 14-9 lead.
Paveletzke’s passing was on display all afternoon long. He totaled 11 assists on the afternoon, tied for a tournament record. He was also the first Ohio player with more than 10 assists in a game since Ben Vander Plas in 2022.
“[Jackson] did a really good job of getting into the paint, drawing two or three defenders, kicking out, could have had 15 or 16 [assists],” Boals said.
Ohio’s first half momentum was met with a response from Jestin Porter. He was able to string seven first half points together in three minutes.
While the Bobcats were struggling to knock down deep shots, they began to move into the paint. Aidan Hadaway and Vic Searls were able to find points down low and keep Ohio’s offense moving.
The first half ended on an AJ Clayton jumper as time expired. Clayton, despite the final bucket, struggled. Through the first 20 minutes, he had just six points and was 0-4 from three-point range.
Early in the second half, Clayton knocked down a three to snap his cold streak and tied the game a 41. The Bobcats had the jump in the latter half playing with the lead for most of it. They held a 5-7 point lead through the second half.
MTSU continued to fight. Porter led the charge as the Blue Raiders slowly chipped back into the game. With Porter driving the ball, Essam Mostafa began to be utilized down low taking advantage of his size matchup.
“He’s just a load,” Boals said. “He makes everyone around him better.”
And down the stretch in the second half that was apparent. Mostafa put up 11 second-half points and grabbed eight rebounds. Maybe most importantly, he went 7-10 at the charity stripe in the game.
Ohio’s final five points of regulation were all from Pavaletzke free throws. The Bobcats had just one field goal from the 2:20 mark in the second. That led to a set up for Middle Tennessee to tie the game.
After getting down the floor quickly, Kamari Lands lined up and made a game-tying three with less than five seconds to go in regulation.
Boals said he trusted his defense to get a stop rather than fouling up three.
“We talked about just playing it out. They’re not a great three-point shooting team,” Boals added. “And if we did foul, put them at the free throw line, we gave up I think 16 offensive rebounds throughout the course of the game.”
With the made shot, the opening game of the tournament was headed to overtime. The contest was just the second time a Myrtle Beach Invite game made it to the extra period. Utah State and Penn (2021) were the only other pairing to play in overtime during the event’s history.
In overtime, Ohio’s offense went ice cold. The Bobcats went 1-8 from the field and 0-6 from three. The only offense they had in OT was the four made free throws.
For MTSU, a Mostafa layup and Porter three-ball and a few free throws were enough to put them over the edge.
AJ Brown did have a look to win the game at the buzzer but could not convert on a solid look.
“Unfortunately, we came up on the short end of game one, they made one more play than we did to win it,” Boals said.
Ohio will play Friday against the loser of the Portland and South Florida matchup at 11:30 a.m.