By Carson Hayek, Staff Writer
CLEVELAND, OHIO – After 15 lead changes, the Ohio University men’s basketball team defeated the St. Bonaventure Bonnies 88-83 Saturday evening at Rocket Arena.
Bobcats senior guard Jackson Paveletzke recorded a team-high 28 points, while Bonnies senior forward Frank Mitchell posted a team-best 27 points and 14 rebounds.
In the first five minutes of the contest, the two teams combined to go 3-for-11 from the field, and Ohio led 5-2.
Over the next two minutes, the Bonnies went on a 10-3 run to take a 12-8 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining in the opening half.
The Bobcats went on an 18-7 spurt of their own over the next six minutes and regained their lead, 26-19.
In the final six minutes of the half, four Bonnies recorded points as they outscored Ohio 13-8, and cut the deficit to 34-32 at halftime.
Out of halftime, the Bonnies went on a 7-0 stretch in the first two minutes of the second half to gain a 39-34 advantage.
The Bobcats answered Bonaventure’s push by outscoring them 17-7 and recaptured the lead 51-46 with 13:33 left in regulation.
For the next four minutes, both teams missed a total of 10 consecutive shots.
Bonnies’ senior forward Daniel Egbuniwe’s layup cut Ohio’s lead to one with 6:34 remaining in regulation.
Mitchell tied the game at 65 just over four minutes later.
In the final two minutes of regulation, Paveletzke scored five points to give Ohio a 70-67 advantage.
The Bonnies used two free throws from Egbuniwe and a free throw from redshirt junior Dasonte Bowen with 17 seconds left to tie the game at 70 and force overtime.
Tied at 79 with 2:05 left in overtime, Bobcats redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons made a fouled jump shot and hit the free throw to give Ohio a one-point lead.
Ohio outscored the Bonnies 8-4 in the final 95 seconds to seal the victory.
The Bobcats move to 4-6, while the Bonnies fall to 10-2.
Following the loss, St. Bonaventure head men’s basketball coach Mark Schmidt said his team lacked consistency.
“We didn’t have consistency in our execution,” Schmidt said. “We also didn’t have consistency in how we were guarding them… they executed better.”
Schmidt also believed the difference in the game was at the foul line.
“You look at it, and they go 17-of-19 and we 11-of-13 [from the line],” Schmidt said. “It wasn’t necessarily the fouls, but it was our inability to keep them in front, and that was the difference.”
St. Bonaventure hosts Le Moyne on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 1 p.m., while Ohio welcomes Ohio Wesleyan on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m.
The Bonnies’ game will air on YES and ESPN+. Radio coverage can be heard on the Bonnies Online Network, 100.1 FM Bradford & Olean, 1340 AM Jamestown, 106.9 FM Hornell, and 92.1 FM Rochester.
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