CONWAY, S.C. – AJ Brown’s 3-point attempt at the overtime buzzer rimmed out, and Middle Tennessee topped Ohio 83-81 in the opening game of the Myrle Beach Invitational at The HTC Center.

Kamari Lands forced overtime with a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left in regulation after the Blue Raiders trailed most of the game.

It was Middle Tennessee (4-1) that led through most of overtime, though Ohio (1-4) briefly took a lead on an AJ Clayton free throw with 2:12 left. Jestin Porter’s 3-pointer on the next possession put the Blue Raiders in front for good.

Camryn Weston split two free throws with 24 seconds left, and Jackson Paveletzke scored a layup with eight seconds to go to make it an 82-81 game. Justin Bufford missed the second of two foul shots with six second to play, and Ohio rebounded and called timeout across halfcourt with 2.5 seconds left.

The ball went into Clayton, who threw it out to Brown. His attempt at the game winner rimmed around and off the rim.

Brown led Ohio with 19 points, while Clayton had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Jackson Paveletzke had a career game with a double-double of 15 points and 11 assists, to go with six rebounds.

Porter paced the Blue Raiders with 24 points, while Essam Mostafa scored 19 points with 13 rebounds.

Ohio’s lead was as big as seven points with 6:11 left in the second half on a Brown fast break layup, but Middle Tennessee slowly erased its deficit. Mostafa hit two foul shots with 1:18 left to make it 70-68, and Paveletzke split two free throws with 40 seconds to play.

For a while after that, Middle Tennessee and Ohio traded baskets and Paveletzke free throws, with his final one making it 75-72 with 14 seconds left. Lands then connected with the game-tying trey. Paveletzke lost the ball out of bounds after that, giving the Blue Raiders a shot at the end of regulation, but they were off the mark.

The Bobcats’ biggest lead of the first half also was seven points at 18-11 after a Clayton basket with 10:47 left. Middle Tennessee scored the next seven points to tie it and then led by as much as 30-25 following a putback basket by Mostafa at the 2:15 mark. Clayton’s tip-in at the halftime buzzer cut Ohio’s deficit to 32-31.

Trailing 43-42 four minutes into the second half, the Bobcats went on an 8-0 run to go up 50-43 and did not trail again until overtime.

Aidan Hadaway had six points and four rebounds and fouled out late in regulation. Ajay Sheldon picked up his fifth foul in the closing seconds of overtime.

Both teams made 21 free throws, with Ohio doing it on 29 attempts and Middle Tennessee on 32. The Blue Raiders outshot the Bobcats 43.8% to 40.3% and outrebounded them 48-38, but a 20-13 turnover disparity made up those differences. Ohio was just 6 of 29 (20.7%) from long range.

Ohio takes on the loser between Portland and USF at 11:30 a.m. Friday.