After suffering a 79-70 road loss to Marshall in its last game, Ohio (5-6) blew out Austin Peay (4-7), 78-58, to stay undefeated in The Convo.
The Bobcats were led by junior Jackson Paveletzke, who tallied 18 points on five-of-six shooting along with 11 assists for his fourth double-double of his career, all coming in his last seven games. In the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Paveletzke became the first Ohio player since Jason Preston to record consecutive double-doubles with points and assists. He’s now done it twice just 11 games into the season.
Ohio was also helped by senior AJ Clayton, who scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including five 3-pointers and six rebounds.
The Bobcats’ defense and hot-shooting start allowed them to get out to a 9-0 lead to start the game, with Clayton and junior Elmore James knocking down 3-pointers. Ohio started playing zone defense, making for a difficult first half for Austin Peay’s best player, senior Sai Witt.
Although Witt ended the game with 21 points on six-of-eleven shooting, he also contributed nine of the Governors’ 18 turnovers, three coming before his team scored its first points.
Clayton added two more 3-pointers, then helped to force another Witt turnover, leading to a fastbreak layup from junior Ajay Sheldon. This sequence brought the Ohio lead to 20-5, but the onslaught would not stop there.
Ohio continued its 3-point barrage, going 9-of-14 in the first half with a 27-point lead, up 49-22. Paveletzke had put himself well on the way to his double-double, tallying 12 points and seven assists before the break.
The Governors managed to outscore the Bobcats in the second half, but the damage was already done. Witt would find his rhythm on offense, getting to the free throw line or throwing around his 270-pound frame for layups.
In the process, Witt caused graduate student Vic Searls to foul out halfway through the second half, leaving Ohio without its strongest post-up defender for the rest of the game. Despite this, the Bobcats continued to put pressure on the Governors’ defense, this time from inside the arc.
Having held a lead by as much as 28 points, Ohio spent the rest of the game looking to get in the paint, hunting for layups, dunks and free throws. The highlight of the half saw Paveletzke get his 11th assist on a near-half-court alley-oop to Clayton.
Ohio wouldn’t make a single three in the final 11 minutes of the game but held Austin Peay off through this interior-focused brand of basketball. The team still managed to hit 50% of its threes for the game, making 12 overall, tied for the highest mark of the season.
With just under 3 minutes left in the game, up 76-53, Ohio subbed in its bench, marking the team’s fourth victory on its home court, staying undefeated in The Convo. Ohio will have a chance to improve to .500 on the season, including improving to 5-0 at home when it takes on Muskingum at 7 p.m. Dec. 30 before heading into Mid-American Conference play.
