ATHENS – Bethune-Cookman built a lead in the first half and held off Ohio late for a 76-73 victory Wednesday night at The Convo.

The Wildcats (2-3) led by as many as 12 points in the first half, had a 37-29 halftime lead and only briefly trailed by a single point toward the middle of the second half. The Bobcats (1-4) had a chance to tie at the end, but Ajay Sheldon had the ball stripped as he was about to go up for a 3-pointer, recovered and then missed badly off the side of the backboard.

Jackson Paveletzke matched his career high for the second straight game, scoring 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting with five assists while playing all but one minute for Ohio. Javan Simmons had his best game with the Bobcats, scoring 20 points and adding nine rebounds. Aidan Hadaway added a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, but no other player scored more than three points.

B-CU was much more balanced, led by Jakobi Heady’s 20 points. Arterio Morris had 17 points, and Jordan Johnson scored 15 points as all five starters scored in double figures.

The Bobcats had brief leads of 49-48 on a Paveletzke three-point play and then 51-50 on a Paveletzke jumper with 12:30 left. Ohio also tied the game multiple times in the second half, doing so for the last time with 4:05 left on a pair of Simmons free throws.

Heady answered with a 3-pointer, and the Wildcats held the lead the rest of the way.
There was not much scoring over the final three and a half minutes. Single free throws from Paveletzke and Simmons made it a one-point game again, but Heady and Morris scored layups to put B-CU up by five. Paveletzke assisted a Simmons dunk with 1:17 left to make it a one-possession game.

After forcing a shot clock violation, the Bobcats had two missed shots on their next possession and then had to foul. Rickey Mitchell Jr. missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Ohio its final shot.

With his team leading 15-12 in the first half, Johnson hit 3-pointers to start and cap a nine-
point run that put the Wildcats up a dozen. The Bobcats answered back with the next eight points to get close again, but the lead went back to double digits at 31-20 on a Morris 3-pointer at the 3:31 mark.

A pair of Simmons free throws made it 34-29 before Heady converted a three-point play on B-CU’s final possession of the half to make it an eight-point game.

Ohio shot 43.3% on the night, including 51.7% in the second half after shooting just 35.5% in the first half when it was 0-for-9 on 3-pointers. The Bobcats finished just 2 of 17 from long range and were 19 of 28 (67.9%) at the foul line.

The Wildcats made 52.6% of their shots, including 57.1% in the second half, and were 8 of 15 (53.3%) on 3-pointers and 8 of 14 on free throws. A 12-5 advantage in offensive rebounds gave the Bobcats a chance despite their inferior shooting.

After missing the last three games, Elijah Elliott returned to the starting lineup but went just 1 of 8 from the field and scored three points. Jalen Breath missed his third straight game.
Ohio faces another tough test when it takes on George Mason in the Sunshine Slam at 6 p.m. Monday in Daytona Beach, Florida.