Coming off a narrow victory against Kent State last Saturday, in which Ohio (11-9, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) played some of its best defense, the team’s following matchup against Toledo (12-8, 6-2 MAC) was a shootout until the end. The teams combined to shoot 15-of-35 from the 3-point line in what was an 86-83 loss for Ohio.
“They’re really good offensively,” Ohio coach Jeff Boals said. “I thought multiple times we guarded them well defensively, then they made some tough shots and stepped up, made plays.”
Toledo finished with six players in double figures, including four with a team-high 15 points. While the Rockets produced an all-around effort, Ohio leaned on its two leading scorers in the absences of AJ Clayton and Aidan Hadaway; redshirt sophomore AJ Brown and junior Jackson Paveletzke.
Brown and Paveletzke combined for 44 of Ohio’s 83 points, shooting 17-of-27 from the floor. Paveletzke carved up the court as a slasher, tallying a game-high six assists, while Brown caught fire in the second half, making seven-of-nine field goals for 19 of his total points.
Brown’s late-game production came as a byproduct of some early mistakes. Already with one foul and three missed field goals, Brown picked up his second foul with 7:46 left in the second half and wouldn’t come back in until after halftime.
“With the lack of depth that we have, we can’t pick up those fouls … so we kept him out of that situation,” Boals said. “But, I thought his 3’s were really good, he took the ball to the basket strong, finished through contact a couple of times and had a big second half.”
Ohio had issues with the officiating early on. In the first half, two technicals were issued: one to Toledo’s Sam Lewis after an inappropriate celebration of his made 3-pointer and the second to Ohio graduate student Vic Searls, who got caught hanging on the rim. Additionally, Ohio’s bench was given a warning.
However, Ohio outpaced its opponent from both the 3-point line and the free-throw line, making 8-of-19 3-pointers compared to Toledo’s 7-of-16 and going 13-of-17 from the line compared to Toledo's 11-of-19.
Ohio struggled at the rim and from inside the arc. In the first half, the Bobcats shot just 9-of-26 from two-point range.
“We missed a lot of layups … a lot of opportunities,” Ohio graduate student Shereef Mitchell said. “When you lose a 3-point game, you always look back and think, ‘Dang, you could’ve made two layups.’”
With six seconds left in the game, Ohio was staring down a 4-point lead after two made free throws from Toledo’s Bryce Ford. The following sequence saw Jackson Paveletzke make his first free throw after being intentionally fouled and getting called for a lane violation on the second.
The Convo was demoralized, but as Toledo’s errant entry pass went out of bounds, Ohio had a chance to tie with a heave. It just didn’t go the Bobcats’ way, as junior Ajay Sheldon’s shot missed.
“It’s deflating,” Brown said. “We fight to get all the way back, then we still come up short … we’re definitely going to learn from it and not make the same mistakes.”
Ohio will be back on the road for the first round of this season’s Battle of the Bricks in Oxford, where both the women’s and men’s teams will play back-to-back at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.