ATHENS – Down two starters, Ohio turned to its defense to take a 61-59 victory against Kent State on Friday evening at The Convo.

The Bobcats (11-8, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) held the Golden Flashes (12-7, 3-4 MAC) to 35% shooting and mustered just enough offense. Jackson Paveletzke scored 15 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer, while AJ Brown also scored 15 points.

"Our guys bent, they didn't break and found a way to win the game," Ohio coach Jeff Boals said.

Down 57-54, Ohio got a pair of free throws from Shareef Mitchell, who finished with 11 points, to get within a point with 2:39 left. After a Kent State turnover, Paveletzke drained a trey to put the Bobcats on top 59-57.

"When it came to me, I didn't second think anything. I just shot it with confidence and results showed,” Paveletzke said.

Cli’ron Hornbeak was fouled after securing an offensive rebound on the ensuing possession but made just the second free throw, leaving Kent State down a point. Ohio committed a turnover but got the ball back on an Ajay Sheldon steal. That led to two Paveletzke free throws with 1:08 left to make it 61-58.

The Golden Flashes missed a pair of 3-pointers but still managed a point on a Marqis Barnett free throw with 25 seconds left on their third chance of the possession. A Bobcats turnover gave them a chance to tie or win, but Cian Medley missed in the paint, and Vic Searls rebounded.

Searls missed two free throws with four seconds to go, and Ohio hung on when Jalen Sullinger missed at the buzzer.

Ohio scored the game’s first six points, Kent State followed with the next seven, and from there, it was back and forth. The Golden Flashes held their biggest lead of 24-15 following a pair of Sullinger free throws, but the Bobcats battled back to tie the game at 27 on a Brown 3-pointer and then trailed by a point, 29-28, at halftime.

The second half was tight, with Kent State leading by four in the opening minutes, but with neither team going ahead by more than three points over the final 17-plus minutes.

Hornbeak and VonCameron Davis scored 13 points each to lead Kent State, with Hornbeak adding 11 rebounds. Barnett had 10 points and seven rebounds.

AJ Clayton did not play for Ohio after sitting out the second half with an injury Tuesday at Eastern Michigan. Boals said fellow starting forward Aidan Hadaway is out for the season with an injury. On a positive note, Ohio got back Elmore James after he was away from the team and did not play against the Eagles.

Searls started his second straight game and had nine points and a team-leading seven rebounds in 29 minutes.

Ohio shot just 37.8% for the game, including only 30.4% in the second half, and went 5 of 18 (27.8%) on 3-pointers. But a 22-of-28 free throw performance provided enough offense.

Kent State’s bad offensive game also included 19 turnovers. Its 22 offensive rebounds kept it in the game.

"Toward the end, we made the big plays to win the game, and I think at the end of the day, that's what matters the most, what happens at the end of the game," Brown said.

The Bobcats host Toledo at 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Convo on ESPN2.