Ohio (10-8, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) went into Ypsilanti, Michigan, with more questions than answers after a tough loss on the road at Akron. Without starting players Aidan Hadaway and Elmore James, Ohio lacked any true identity en route to a 94-87 blowout at the hands of Eastern Michigan (9-9, 3-3 MAC).
Hadaway, who was injured against Akron, was dearly missed from the start of Ohio’s tilt with Eastern Michigan. At 6-foot-8, Hadaway accounted for a solid portion of the team’s height, rebounding and physicality, three things the Bobcats seemed to lack throughout the entire game.
After the first 10 minutes of the game, Ohio was already trailing by 5 points, a number that would only balloon from there.
A 3-point barrage from starting guard Arne Osojnik led the Eagles in the first half, shooting four-of-five from beyond the arc in the game's opening minutes. When Osojnik wasn’t nailing 3-pointer after 3-pointer, the Eagles attacked the paint where Vic Searls, subbing in for Hadaway, stood.
Things went from bad to worse for Ohio, which allowed a 7-0 run in the winding minutes of the first half. This led to an eventual 15-point halftime deficit — one of its worst marks of the season so far.
Ohio’s chances of a comeback felt slimmer than they were due to the team’s inability to get anything going for any stretch of the first half. Without its leading rebounder in Hadaway, Ohio did not record a single offensive rebound in the first half. To end the game, Ohio was outrebounded 33-24.
The second half brought only more questions and no answers as Ohio coach Jeff Boals tried to shuffle his players into unfamiliar lineups. Guards Ajay Sheldon and Elijah Elliott received season-high marks in minutes played despite not being in the starting lineup.
While Sheldon had some good moments on defense, Elliott was Ohio’s main offensive production off the bench, scoring 10 points along with five rebounds. Elliott’s freshman counterpart, Ayden Evans, also saw more time than usually expected but couldn’t produce much of anything on the court.
A rare bright spot on offense for Ohio was transfer guard Jackson Paveletzke, who sat for only four minutes, scoring a game- and career-high 28 points. Standing at 6-foot-2, Paveletzke found a way to lead the Bobcats in rebounding with six.
Star forward AJ Clayton had yet another underwhelming performance for Ohio, notching only 3 points on one field goal in a measly 11 minutes played. After a shockingly low output of minutes, whether Clayton is fully healthy has become a serious question.
Ohio showed some fight late in the second half, cutting the Eastern Michigan lead to single digits, but ultimately couldn’t pull off the miracle.
The Bobcats now sit at 4-2 in the MAC after suffering back-to-back losses, and the road ahead doesn’t get any easier. Ohio’s next two games will be against Kent State and Toledo, both of which sit among the leaders in the MAC standings.
