To kick off the second week of a three-week road trip for Ohio (1-4), as well as the annual Myrtle Beach Invitational, Ohio fell in overtime to Middle Tennessee, 83-81.
In a way, this was an encouraging moment for the team, which has struggled out of the gates. Ohio’s three losses entering the Myrtle Beach Invitational came by an average of nearly 15 points. Against Middle Tennessee, Ohio looked like a far better team than they’d shown.
The game was a bit of a coming-out party for transfer guard Jackson Paveletzke, who recorded his first career double-double, tallying 15 points, six rebounds and a game-high 11 assists. Joining Paveletzke with a double-double of his own was senior forward AJ Clayton, who had 18 points and eleven rebounds.
Leading the way for the Blue Raiders were Jestin Porter and Essam Mostafa, who both recorded season-highs in points with 24 and 19, respectively.
To start the game, Ohio spent just over 5 minutes fighting for a 5-point lead at 14-9. Paveletzke scored or assisted on 11 of those 14 points.
Ohio would hold its slim lead for most of the first half, but not without Middle Tennessee taking small chips away at the deficit. A tip-in layup from redshirt freshman Torey Alston tied the game 24-24, and with a foul, Alston put the Blue Raiders up 1-point.
Paveletzke would continue to pull his weight, scoring, distributing and stealing the basketball to keep the lead within reach, but one thing held Ohio back from taking this game handily: shooting.
Ohio shot 6-of-29 from the 3-point line, with only one player, junior Elmore James, making more than one 3-point shot. The first half ended with Ohio down 32-31.
Two of Ohio’s six threes came in the opening seven minutes of the second half. The first was a lead-taking three from redshirt sophomore AJ Brown in the opening seconds of the half; the second was junior Ajay Sheldon’s second 4-point play of the season to put Ohio up 5 points with just under 14 minutes left in regulation.
Two more times in the next 3 minutes, Ohio extended its lead to 7 points, the highest margin of the game. Despite the team's continued lackluster shooting, Ohio’s ability to force turnovers from Middle Tennessee allowed them to cruise through the remainder of the game, holding onto a lead for the majority of the matchup.
As time whittled down and the pace of the game became more frantic, Paveletzke went to the free-throw line. Up 2 points with 40 seconds left, Paveletzke split his attempts, keeping the game at a one-score margin.
Paveletzke would hit all his free throws on his next two trips, but Ohio would give up layups on the other end each time.
With 14 seconds left, Middle Tennessee took the ball up the court, ran a play, and allowed itself to tie the game. With four seconds left, junior Kamari Lands rose up for a 3-pointer on the right wing, tying the game. Ohio still had time to get a basket, but facing great pressure, Paveletzke dribbled the ball off his foot out of bounds.
Overtime was low scoring, and a quick 3 points from the Blue Raiders to open gave the team the advantage. Free throws from Brown and Clayton would put Ohio up 1, but a 3-pointer from Porter at the other end would give Middle Tennessee a 2-point lead that it would not relinquish.
With its own opportunity to tie the game, Ohio went for the win. An inbound pass found Brown behind the 3-point line for a shot that would have won the game if not for the near miss by Brown to end the game.
