Ohio (15-13 overall, 9-6 Mid-American Conference) controlled the game for all 40 minutes against a feisty Northern Illinois (9-17 overall, 4-10 MAC) squad but hung on late behind strong efforts from its front court to defeat the Huskies 74-66 and clinch a berth to Cleveland for the MAC Tournament.
Ohio went on the road to DeKalb, Illinois, for the final time as conference opponents with Northern Illinois on Saturday afternoon. Both teams came in coming off wins with MAC Tournament implications on the line for the rest of the season, as this one would be a key piece for both programs.
Ohio missed its first couple shots from the field, but was the first team on the board after a pair of free throws from senior guard Jackson Paveletzke. The Huskies answered with a layup, but the first few minutes were riddled with misses on both sides, with the score being 3-2 at the 16:50 mark of the first half.
Northern Illinois grabbed a 4-3 lead, but Ohio worked down low through a give-and-go by redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons and Paveletzke for an and-1 as the Bobcats went right back on top.
The Huskies started attacking with pace and converted at both levels, while also slowing down the Ohio offense, which was shooting just 25% in the opening six minutes and had not made a 3-point basket. That was until freshman guard Jesse Burris hit one out of the first media timeout on a pass from Paveletzke.
The Bobcats kept rolling with a transition bucket from Paveletzke and a pair of turnovers from Northern Illinois to go up 13-9. Simmons started rolling offensively, getting to the line and his familiar spot on the left block to hit a layup. After a 3-pointer by the Huskies, Simmons rolled to the basket for a slam dunk, putting Ohio ahead 18-12.
The pace picked up again, and so did the shot-making as the offenses went back and forth. As the game went into another media timeout, and with just under seven minutes to go, both teams looked for some momentum heading into the half.
Ohio was the benefactor early after a miss by Northern Illinois. Paveletzke outlet passed the ball to senior guard Dior Conners, who scored through contact for an and-1. A couple possessions later, the Bobcats were moving the ball well, and Conners found senior forward Aidan Hadaway for a 3-pointer and a 30-17 advantage.
The Huskies stopped the Ohio run with a free throw and a bucket, but the Bobcats immediately answered with another 3-pointer, this time from senior guard Ajay Sheldon. The final minutes were slow for both sides, so the Bobcats turned to Simmons again for another physical layup and a jumper on an assist from Paveletzke to give Simmons 14 first-half points, and Ohio a 37-25 lead heading into the break.
Northern Illinois got the second-half scoring going with a layup, a pair of free throws, and a second-chance bucket to quickly cut the Ohio’s lead in half at 37-31. The Bobcats needed to rally quickly, but the Huskies were not done there, hitting the offensive boards and working in the paint to cut the lead to 4.
Paveletzke finally got the Bobcats on the board in the second half with a 3-pointer, and that sparked another triple, this one from Sheldon to put Ohio back up by double digits. For the next 1:30, the game went scoreless until Ohio took advantage of a Northern Illinois turnover when Sheldon found himself open in the left corner for another 3-pointer.
Northern Illinois continued to fight and cut the lead to 7 on another easy bucket down. Ohio needed to regroup on both ends to close this one out, and offensively went back to Simmons for a layup.
The Huskies were pesky the entire second half, and after a 3-pointer from Dylan Ducommun and a layup from Taj Walters cut the lead to 4 as Northern Illinois continued to pull closer to the Ohio lead, which was now just 53-49.
Ohio needed a bucket and went right back to Simmons for another tough bucket down low, in which he converted another and-1. The next couple of possessions for Ohio were stellar, with great ball movement and a layup from Hadaway, and then a steal and breakaway dunk from freshman guard JJ Kelly, retaking a double-digit lead, at 60-49.
The Huskies responded out of the media timeout with a 7-2 run that included another 3-pointer from Ducommun. They kept chipping away with another 3-pointer a couple of minutes later, this time from Makhai Valentine as the Bobcats lead was just 63-59.
The Ohio front court went to work over the next handful of possessions, with a layup from Hadaway and another and-1 from Simmons. The clock began to tick down, and the Huskies could not get a shot to fall, while the Bobcasts went to Paveletzke to close the door on this one. He made a jumper, and then after a steal, the Bobcats passed it around to Kelly for another dunk and a 73-61 edge.
Paveletzke stepped to the line and iced away the game for Ohio, as it secured a berth to Cleveland for the MAC Tournament with a 74-66 win. The Bobcats were led by Simmons with 23 points and seven rebounds, his best game as a Bobcat. Hadaway followed with a double-double, having 13 points and 11 boards, and Paveletzke had 14 points, four rebounds and six assists of his own.
