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ATHENS, Ohio—The Ohio men's basketball team (3-3) swept the Bobcat Battle, defeating Alabama State (1-7) 72-58. 

"There's no such thing as a good win," head coach Jeff Boals said. "Only great wins. And awesome having a band back what a great atmosphere they provide. And the cheerleaders, so thankful for them being here. And I want to give a shout out to coach Albin and his staff and team. I'm looking forward to seeing them Saturday in the MAC championship game. But I thought our guys really competed. Fourth game in nine days. Got off to a great start, which, you know, allows a cushion and we challenged our guys at halftime to kind of understand how we got our lead. and maintain the lead. We knew they were gonna give us their best shot and give them credit they battled. I think they cut it there maybe nine there in the middle of second half and we made some plays down the stretch when we needed to offensively and defensively. Really proud of AJ Clayton, stepping up without Dwight and Miles Brown has been awesome, you know for all year long. We've got to keep building on it and keep stacking days and be consistent."
 
As a team, the Bobcats shot 45.9 percent from the field, 32.3 from the three and were 6-of-9 from the line. They recorded 17 assists and five steals in comparison to the Hornets' six assists and eight steals and out-rebounded their opponent, 42-33. 
 
Senior guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) led the team with 18 points, going 7-of-10 in field goals. Sophomore AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio), was a close second, scoring 13 points. Senior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) had 11 points on the game, going 3-for-4 on free throws while junior center Gabe Wiznitzer (Walhalla, S.C.) set a career-high for rebounds with eight.
 
The Bobcats opened strong, taking a quick 6-0 lead with back-to-back threes from senior guard DeVon Baker (Dayton, Ohio) and Brown. With 18:54 left in the half, Alabama State put their first two points up on the board, but Brown quickly put up another three points for the Bobcats. 
 
Ohio scored eight of the next 12 points, extending their lead to 17-6. After an Alabama State three followed by an Ohio jumper, the Hornets shot the first free throws of the game with 12:19 left in the half, cutting the Bobcats' lead to eight points. Coming out of the timeout, Brown made a second-chance layup, putting the score at 21-11. Ohio scored 11 of the next 17 points, ending with a three from Roderick, giving the Bobcats 32-17 lead.
 
Alabama State scored first out of the timeout, but the Bobcats quickly answered with six points of their own. The two teams continued to go back and forth, with Ohio maintaining their 17-point lead. Brown scored with a two-point jumper with 1:05 left in the half, putting the Bobcats ahead 45-27.
 
At the half, the Bobcats shot 48.6 percent from the field, 45 percent from the three and hadn't recorded any free throws, while Alabama State was 34.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from the three and 4-of-46 from the line. Ohio out-rebounded the Hornets, 23-15, while the Bobcats had 14 assists and three steals to Alabama State's four assists and four steals. 
 
Alabama State opened the second half with a three-point jumper, but Wiznitzer quickly put up two points for Ohio. The Hornets scored eight of the next 14 points, trailing the Bobcats 53-38 with 15:16 left in the game. Coming out of the timeout, Alabama State scored with another three-point jumper and Roderick took Ohio's first free throws of the game, making both. The Hornets continued to score, cutting Ohio's lead to 10 points. 
 
Coming out of the timeout, the Hornets scored twice to the Bobcats' once, putting the score at 58-49 with 7:45 remaining in the game. Clayton put up four points in a minute with two free throws and a field goal, followed by a three-point jumper from Brown. The Hornets scored twice in this time as well, maintaining their nine-point deficit with 3:29 to go. 
 
With 2:51 left in the game, Clayton hit a second-chance layup followed by a dunk. Baker scored the Bobcats' last two points on the game and the Hornets put up three more points with two seconds left, putting the score at 72-58. 

Following the game, Brown was named tournament MVP, while Roderick was named to the all-tournament team.  
 
Up next, the Bobcats return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 30 when they host UC Clermont. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN3 or ESPN+. 

Full Bobcat Battle All-Tournament Team:
Miles Brown - MVP
Ben Roderick – Ohio
Amarr Knox – ASU
Isaiah Range – ASU
Yakeema Rose – EIU
Nick Ellington – EIU

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