Ohio (11-8, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) knew it would have to step up. With AJ Clayton and Aidan Hadaway out, the team is missing two of its primary contributors. While there’s no defined pecking order on the offensive end, every player who came in for Ohio coach Jeff Boals contributed to one of the team’s best defensive outings, beating Kent State (12-7, 3-4 MAC) 61-59.
“Without two starters, everybody stepped up and made a winning play and that’s why we came out on top,” Ohio junior AJ Brown said. “We were the grittier team and we did all the little things at the end of the game to put us in the best position (to win).”
The Golden Flashes are fresh off a trip to the MAC Tournament Championship Game in 2024, playing Akron for a chance at the MAC Title. A little less than a year later, Kent State coach Rob Senderoff’s team boasts one of the best defenses in the country, holding opponents to less than 65 points per game.
Ohio’s offense has revved hot for most of the season, ranking third in the MAC in points per game, and while they didn’t score as much as usual, the team did just enough to outperform the impressive Kent State defense.
“We knew coming in, defensively, the rebounding battle was going to be huge,” Ohio coach Jeff Boals said. “We didn’t do a very good job there … but I think the key is they only scored 14 points off 22 offensive rebounds … they’ll go and get it, and when we needed to, we made the stops.”
Ohio ultimately lost the rebounding battle 46-28, allowing Kent State to nearly equal its total rebounds solely on the offensive end. However, while the Bobcats struggled to secure possessions, their second and third efforts to get a stop were fantastic.
The first half ended 29-28, a far cry from some of Ohio's recent high-scoring halves. In fact, the game’s 57 combined points in the first half were just 2 points more than the 55-point second half Ohio produced against Muskingum and only 6 more points than the 51-point second half it produced against Akron. However, Ohio buckled in on defense and put together one of its most disruptive games.
“Our guys bent, they didn’t break and found a way to win,” Boals said. “48 deflections, nine kills – it was just a phenomenal defensive effort.”
Brown, who was tied for the game-high in scoring with teammate Jackson Paveletzke, contributed four of the Bobcats’ 12 steals to go with several deflections. While he was causing havoc in the passing lanes, freshman Elijah Elliott in his first career start was effectively slowing down Kent State’s best player, VonCameron Davis.
Elliott took the primary assignment of Davis, who is a MAC Player of the Year candidate as the Golden Flashes’ leading scorer. Davis finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, but it didn’t come easy, as Elliott helped him rack up five turnovers and three personal fouls on the way.
“I think (Elliott) definitely came up big for us,” Brown said. “… that’s what we asked of him: go in there and give it your all. He showed us that he could play with the big boys and he’s ready for this.”
However, Elliott wasn’t the only guard who handled a notable size mismatch with poise. Junior Ajay Sheldon, who stands at 6-foot-1, was repeatedly switched onto Kent State’s most physically imposing player, 6-foot-9 senior Cli’Ron Hornbeak.
While Hornbeak finished with a double-double, it wasn’t without Sheldon causing frustration. In the first half, Sheldon forced a Kent State turnover with his effort to deny an entry pass to Hornbeak. In the second, he gave Hornbeak an offensive foul on another post-up attempt. Sheldon’s biggest play, however, came with 4:58 left to go when he came from behind to swat a Hornbeak layup attempt off the glass to maintain a 3-point lead for Ohio.
Overall, Ohio held Kent State to its lowest scoring total in MAC play, as its opponent shot 35 percent from the field and 15.6 percent from three. Ohio will need to continue building its defensive identity to compete in a strong MAC.
