Ohio (1-1 overall, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) secured a close win against a scrappy UNC Asheville (0-2 overall, 0-0 Big South) team in its first game of the season at The Convo. A final score of 82-76 was enough to get the job done.
The Ohio faithful and Athens locals were clearly excited for the return of Ohio basketball to The Convo. The crowd was loud and engaged all night long, as was the team.
“I thought our crowd was awesome,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said. “We got into it, and it gave us a little boost.”
The crowd went wild for the first points of the 2024-2025 season at The Convo– a three-pointer by Shereef Mitchell setting the tone for the night. Aiden Hadaway and AJ Clayton would be the next Bobcats to score, with Clayton’s first three giving Ohio an early lead.
That lead wouldn’t last very long, as Ohio regressed to a slightly slow start shooting the ball, following a tough loss in its first game against James Madison.
“Coming off a loss, you always want to respond the right way,” Boals said. “I thought first half, we got off to a slow start.”
The early proceedings of the first half would seem to mirror the full game for both teams. Ohio would generate good offense with point guard Jackson Paveletzke running the floor, just for UNC Asheville to come down on offense and answer solid Ohio possession with a good possession of its own.
The debuts of freshmen Elijah Elliott and Ayden Evans were big moments in the first half. Evans was able to get his first career points off a big dunk coming from some great pick-and-roll play with Paveletzke.
“Our two freshmen came in, and they were prepared for this moment,” Boals said. “They didn't play Monday, but they came back to work, they watched film, did some extra work, and both of them were prepared for the opportunity.”
Ohio went on a big run at the end of the first half, entering the break with a solid eight-point lead. AJ Clayton led the way with ten of his 19 total points coming in the first half.
Clayton’s performance was uplifting to witness after a tough game in Monday’s loss to James Madison.
“I mean, shots just didn't fall Monday, today shots fell– I could say that goes around for everybody,” Clayton said. “They left me open and (I had) more confidence playing at home. You
want to get that one, especially after that loss on the road to start the season.”
Clayton was also incredible on defense against the Bulldogs, coming up with three blocks including a monster block he pinned against the backboard that led to a wide-open Elmore James layup.
James was one of many players who came off the bench and added a ton of impact for the Bobcats, finishing with 12 points and three rebounds.
“Everybody knew we had to have better energy, especially after the loss at JMU,” James said. “We all feel like we could have provided more of a push off the bench. I feel like we all just keep that in mind. We just come out with as much energy as we can and just stay together.”
Things got dicey in the final ten minutes of the second half for Ohio, with UNC Asheville even taking the lead with around five minutes left to play.
Once the Bulldogs took the lead, however, the Ohio defense dialed in, allowing just two field goals over the final five minutes, completely shutting the offensive attack for UNC Asheville while Ohio gained the lead back on a clutch three from Clayton.
“We got some deflections late, some plays that they tried to run, but they were successfully covered up by our ball pressure,” Boals said. “Give our guys credit, that last three, four minutes we made some plays defensively.”
The stellar defense late allowed Ohio to maintain its lead, with free throws from Paveletzke and Hadaway sealing the deal for Ohio’s first win of its young season.
