Ohio (1-4 overall) returned to the Convocation Center after the first road trip of the year, which resulted in losses to Saint Mary’s and Louisville. The Bobcats looked to bounce back against HBCU Bethune-Cookman, but a 2-17 night from three ended up costing the Bobcats in a 76-73 loss.
“We've been like that all year,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said. “I think probably now we're shooting low 20s from three … Gotta stay confident. Gotta watch film to see why we're missing them, because when you go two for 17, you leave a lot of points off the board.”
Ohio started the game attacking with its best scorer, senior guard Jackson Paveletzke. Despite his small frame, he has a knack for getting into the paint and creating his own shot, often with a turnaround jumper that he flashed twice in the early minutes to get some early buckets.
He stayed attacking the rim, getting by his defender for a layup and quick six points to start the game. Bethune-Cookman was able to respond to every bucket from Ohio, as the preseason SWAC favorite showed off its ability to score with guys like Jakobi and Quentin Heady.
Turnovers plagued the Ohio offense early, as the Bobcats committed six turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the half. Those turnover issues allowed the Wildcats to go on an early run, getting up to a 12-point lead with nine minutes to play in the first half.
Jordan Johnson was a big proponent of the Bethune-Cookman offense as he started out the game red-hot, scoring 12 points on the back of going 3-3 from deep.
Ohio was able to go on a run of its own after the scoring outburst from Johnson, as the Bobcats rattled off six straight thanks to buckets from Aidan Hadaway and Javan Simmons.
The Wildcats would go on another run, responding right away after the run from Ohio with some tough shots from Arterio Morris, including a deep three that he was able to get off just before the shot clock expired.
One issue that was detrimental for Ohio in the first half was the three-point shooting, as similar to the game against Illinois State, Ohio did not make a three in the entirety of the first half, shooting 0-9 from three in the first 20 minutes of action.
Those shooting woes contributed to Ohio being down at the half by a score of 37-29.
The Bobcats came out of the half playing faster and with more aggression on offense, cutting the Bethune-Cookman lead down to just four.
It was shortly after the first few minutes of the second half that Paveletzke started to dominate and take over the game on offense.
He got the three-point monkey off of Ohio’s back, knocking down a three from the wing to cut the lead to two before coming back down and fighting through contact for an and-one layup that he would convert to take the lead.
Paveletzke finished the game with 28 points, tying his career high again after scoring 28 points against Louisville in the team’s previous game.
“I feel really confident, but it's a testament to the guys around me, feeding me confidence,” Paveletzke said. “I haven't won those games (where I score 28 points). So (I’m) just going to keep staying aggressive, still keep staying confident out there, looking for my shot, and just take what the defense gives me.”
Paveletzke hit both of Ohio’s two threes on the night, with the second one lighting up the Convo and bringing Ohio back within two points. In the next possession, Hadaway was able to hit a layup to tie it.
Brothers Quenien and Jakobi Heady delivered for the Wildcats after Ohio tied it, with Quentin hitting a midrange jumper and Jakobi hitting a three to give them a three-point lead. A layup from Morris extended the lead to five, but a dunk from Simmons made it a one-score game.
Some great on-ball defense from JJ Kelly forced a shot clock violation from Bethune-Cookman, giving Ohio a chance to score with just over 40 seconds left. The ensuing possession for Ohio wa a mess, as no one attempted a three before Ohio called a timeout with 11 seconds left after an offensive rebound gave the Bobcats an extra possession.
Paveletzke missed a jumper coming out of the timeout, and Bethune-Cookman had a chance to put the game away with a free throw from Rickey Mitchell.
The ensuing free throw rattled off the rim and into the hands of Elijah Elliott, who found Ajay Sheldon for a chance to tie it.
There was contact on his attempt, but nothing was called, and Sheldon was able to get one more heave off, but it went off the backboard as the buzzer sounded, ending Ohio’s hopes of a comeback.
With the loss, Ohio is now 1-4 before facing a tough slate of games against George Mason and either Florida Atlantic or Loyola Marymount.
“Moving forward, you're playing an undefeated George Mason team Monday night, and you play undefeated Loyola Marymount, or Florida Atlantic,” Boals said. “I think for us, we've got to continue to stay together. We (have) got to continue to work, most importantly, understand the value of every possession.”
