Ohio (3-6 overall) took care of business at home, winning its second straight over Marshall (5-4 overall), as all starters scored in double digits, including a double-double by senior forward Aidan Hadaway.
Coming off its second win of the season, Ohio welcomed rival Marshall into The Convo to wrap up its two-game homestand. The Bobcats started hot Wednesday against Maine and got right to work Saturday afternoon, jumping out to an early 8-4 lead behind a trifecta of buckets from senior forward Aidan Hadaway, including two three-pointers.
“I mean, with (redshirt junior Javan) Simmons, (senior guard Jackson Pavaletzke) and (senior guard Ajay) Sheldon shooting, (their defense was) kind of not worried about me, especially on the perimeter, so I was just open,” Hadaway said. “If I'm open, I get told to shoot it. So I shot it, and it was falling tonight."
Hadaway stayed hot for Ohio out of the first timeout, collecting a miss and putting it back up and in to put Ohio ahead 10-6. The rest of the Bobcats wanted to get in on the scoring, and it started with a pull-up jumper from Sheldon. Marshall responded on the other end with an and-one to cut the lead to 12-11.
The pace slowed down dramatically with a couple of fouls in quick succession. Ohio took advantage once play quickened again. First, it was another jumper by Paveletzke, and then a fast break layup by freshman guard JJ Kelly on a pass from Hadaway as the Bobcats extended the lead to 22-18.
Jalen Breath kept doing the dirty work down low and was rewarded with a couple more trips to the free-throw line, where he made three of four. Paveletzke then found some space behind the arc and made a three-pointer, but the Bobcats were not done there.
The immediate inbound was thrown into the hands of sophomore guard Elijah Elliott, who found Kelly for another transition layup, allowing the Bobcats to go up 30-24. After another Marshall miss, Ohio got the ball to Kelly, who once again beat his man, getting into the paint for another bucket.
The Thundering Herd found a little life after a timeout, but Ohio quickly took back the momentum with back-to-back and-ones by Simmons as the crowd roared to life with the lead reaching double digits, now 38-28.
Ohio went into the locker room with a lead for the third consecutive game and had the shooting advantage from the field and from beyond the arc. The Bobcats could also hang their hat on the advantage in free throw attempts, having taken nine more than the Thundering Herd.
The second half started just like the first with the hot hand of Hadaway. Ohio spread the ball around and found him on the right wing for an open three-pointer, and then on the following possession, he sought out contact and dunked over a Marshall defender down low. The hot play continued into the third possession when Ohio found Hadaway again, this time in the left corner for another three-pointer and a 48-37 lead.
Marshall was not just going to let the Bobcats pull away. It went on an 8-0 run that included a pair of pull-up three-pointers and a flashy layup to seize momentum and force an early second-half timeout by the Bobcats, who now only had a slim 48-45 advantage.
Ohio needed a spark, so after a hustle rebound by Sheldon, he found Kelly for a three-pointer. Then, Kelly was found cutting to the rim where he was fouled on a ferocious dunk to put Ohio up 54-47 after the free throw.
The Thundering Herd changed the pace up in the second period, putting the Bobcats on their heels and collecting some easy buckets to trim the lead back to just three, at 59-56. Ohio needed to regroup and did so after a Marshall miss with a physical drive by Paveletzke, where he converted the floater and the free throw that followed to push the lead back to six.
Both teams went back and forth before senior guard Dior Conners got hot. He made a contested layup, and then followed it up with a massive three-pointer. He was not alone as Sheldon followed with another three-pointer on a pass from Kelly to reassume a double-digit lead for Ohio at 73-62.
Sheldon felt himself, kept firing and hit another three-pointer. Marshall responded with physicality and free throws, and cut the lead to 10 with just under six minutes to play.
Ohio put this one away with hustle and grit. The final nail in the coffin came at the three-minute mark on an inbound steal by Sheldon that resulted in a scoring chance for Hadaway, who was fouled, making one of two at the charity stripe as the lead continued to grow. Ohio was up 86-70.
“He always shoots extra, watches film, and you know, sometimes you have to see one go in, and, last game he was a beast defensively,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said.
The Bobcats ran out the final couple of minutes to capture their second consecutive win by a score of 88-81. Ohio was led by Paveletzke with 22 points, but it was a complete team effort with all starters reaching double figures on the afternoon.
“Our staff has done a great job, you know, staying positive, keeping the work ethic, and you know, to get a win Wednesday, to build on that and get another win tonight. Hopefully that gives us momentum,” Boals said.
