Tuesday, February 18
Athens, Ohio/Convocation Center
7:00 PM
Central Michigan University
11-15,4-9MAC
82
at
84
Ohio
14-12,8-5MAC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
41
41
82
Ohio
38
46
84
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Team Stats
CMU
Ohio
FG%
.426
.438
3FG%
.500
.483
FT%
.771
.700
RB
36
35
TO
5
4
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
35
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
13
Pts
25
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
11
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Ohio Holds Off Chippewas 84-82
2/18/2025 9:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jakobi Heady scores a career-high 35 points; Ugnius Jarusevicius finishes with 25; Ohio rallies in the second half, holds off Central Michigan for two-point victory.
ATHENS, Ohio—Jakobi Heady scored a career-high 35 points and Ugnius Jarusevicius added 25 points for Central Michigan, but it was not enough as Ohio rallied in the second half and held off the visiting Chippewas for an 84-82 win Tuesday evening at the Ohio Convocation Center.
With the loss, Central Michigan drops its third straight, falls to 1-7 on the year in games decided by three points or less, and falls to 11-15 overall and 4-9 in the MAC. Ohio is now 14-12 overall and 8-5 in the MAC.
Five games remain for Central Michigan: at Western Michigan (Feb. 22), Buffalo (Feb. 25), at Eastern Michigan (Feb. 28), at Ball State (March 4) and Northern Illinois (March 7). The top eight teams earn berths into the 2025 MAC Tournament, scheduled for March 13-15 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Every time Central Michigan trimmed Ohio's advantage down, the Bobcats rallied to maintain the lead. In the closing minutes, Central Michigan tied the game at 82-82 when Jarusevicius hit 1-2 free throws with 46 seconds to play. Ohio got the ball back and missed a shot, but the ball rolled off a CMU's players hands. Ohio inbounded the ball under CMU's basket with 26 seconds to play and Shereef Mitchell ended up drawing a foul on a drive to the basket. Mitchell hit two free throws for the 84-82 lead.
With 16 seconds to play, Central Michigan missed a jumper but still retained possession with 0.9 seconds to go. The Chippewas missed a jumper at the buzzer.
Ohio was led by Jackson Paveletzke, who scored a team-high 22 points (8-12 shooting) with six rebounds and four assists. AJ Brown finished the game with 20 points and seven rebounds, and Mitchell added 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Bobcats hit 48.3 percent of their 3-pointers (14-29).
Heady converted 9-18 field goals, 4-6 3-pointers and 13-15 free throws en route to his 35 points. Jarusevicius registered his third straight 20-point game with 25 points on 6-11 shooting and 11-16 free throw shooting. Central Michigan played just six players, hit nine 3-pointers and shot 42.6 percent (23-54) from the floor.
In the first half, Central Michigan's Heady (15 points) and Jarusevicius (10 points) scored 25 of CMU's 41 first half points as the Chippewas grabbed a 41-38 lead at halftime.
Central Michigan seized an early lead at 12-6 in the game's first five minutes The Chippewas led by as many as six points (32-26) with 7:28 to go in the first half on a 3-pointer by Vasko. Two Jakobi Heady free throws put CMU up 38-33 with 1:44 to go before the half.
Ohio outscored CMU 12-5 through the second half's first six minutes to take a 50-46 lead. Then Paveletzke converted a 3-point play and followed with a jumper in the lane for a 55-48 lead with 13:15 to play. That was Ohio's largest up until that point.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Heady and Jarusevicius put CMU back within three points (60-57) with 10:20 to go. Heady cut the lead down to one point, 63-62 on two free throws with 9:15 to go.
But Ohio answered with Paveletzke 3-pointer and Clayton 3-pointer and Ohio went up seven points (71-64) with 7:53 to play in the game.
But the Chippewas battled back. A Heady 3-pointer put the Chippewas within one point again, 71-70, with 6:20 to play.
A Clayton 3-pointer gave Ohio a commanding 80-73 lead with 4:21 to go. But Central Michigan made one last run at the Bobcats as Jarusevicius scored a layup, Kyler VanderJagt converted a layup and then Heady made it 82-81 with two free throws. That's when Jarusevicius made 1-2 free throws to tie the ballgame.
Two home games remain for Central Michigan: Buffalo (Feb. 25) and Northern Illinois (March 7). CMU men's basketball season tickets and single game tickets are on sale. Fans can order season tickets by calling Ticket Central at (989) 774-3045, by ordering on this link, or by stopping by Ticket Central located in the John G. Kulhavi Events Center between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Single-game tickets are also on sale. For more information, click here.
With the loss, Central Michigan drops its third straight, falls to 1-7 on the year in games decided by three points or less, and falls to 11-15 overall and 4-9 in the MAC. Ohio is now 14-12 overall and 8-5 in the MAC.
Five games remain for Central Michigan: at Western Michigan (Feb. 22), Buffalo (Feb. 25), at Eastern Michigan (Feb. 28), at Ball State (March 4) and Northern Illinois (March 7). The top eight teams earn berths into the 2025 MAC Tournament, scheduled for March 13-15 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Every time Central Michigan trimmed Ohio's advantage down, the Bobcats rallied to maintain the lead. In the closing minutes, Central Michigan tied the game at 82-82 when Jarusevicius hit 1-2 free throws with 46 seconds to play. Ohio got the ball back and missed a shot, but the ball rolled off a CMU's players hands. Ohio inbounded the ball under CMU's basket with 26 seconds to play and Shereef Mitchell ended up drawing a foul on a drive to the basket. Mitchell hit two free throws for the 84-82 lead.
With 16 seconds to play, Central Michigan missed a jumper but still retained possession with 0.9 seconds to go. The Chippewas missed a jumper at the buzzer.
Ohio was led by Jackson Paveletzke, who scored a team-high 22 points (8-12 shooting) with six rebounds and four assists. AJ Brown finished the game with 20 points and seven rebounds, and Mitchell added 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Bobcats hit 48.3 percent of their 3-pointers (14-29).
Heady converted 9-18 field goals, 4-6 3-pointers and 13-15 free throws en route to his 35 points. Jarusevicius registered his third straight 20-point game with 25 points on 6-11 shooting and 11-16 free throw shooting. Central Michigan played just six players, hit nine 3-pointers and shot 42.6 percent (23-54) from the floor.
In the first half, Central Michigan's Heady (15 points) and Jarusevicius (10 points) scored 25 of CMU's 41 first half points as the Chippewas grabbed a 41-38 lead at halftime.
Central Michigan seized an early lead at 12-6 in the game's first five minutes The Chippewas led by as many as six points (32-26) with 7:28 to go in the first half on a 3-pointer by Vasko. Two Jakobi Heady free throws put CMU up 38-33 with 1:44 to go before the half.
Ohio outscored CMU 12-5 through the second half's first six minutes to take a 50-46 lead. Then Paveletzke converted a 3-point play and followed with a jumper in the lane for a 55-48 lead with 13:15 to play. That was Ohio's largest up until that point.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Heady and Jarusevicius put CMU back within three points (60-57) with 10:20 to go. Heady cut the lead down to one point, 63-62 on two free throws with 9:15 to go.
But Ohio answered with Paveletzke 3-pointer and Clayton 3-pointer and Ohio went up seven points (71-64) with 7:53 to play in the game.
But the Chippewas battled back. A Heady 3-pointer put the Chippewas within one point again, 71-70, with 6:20 to play.
A Clayton 3-pointer gave Ohio a commanding 80-73 lead with 4:21 to go. But Central Michigan made one last run at the Bobcats as Jarusevicius scored a layup, Kyler VanderJagt converted a layup and then Heady made it 82-81 with two free throws. That's when Jarusevicius made 1-2 free throws to tie the ballgame.
Two home games remain for Central Michigan: Buffalo (Feb. 25) and Northern Illinois (March 7). CMU men's basketball season tickets and single game tickets are on sale. Fans can order season tickets by calling Ticket Central at (989) 774-3045, by ordering on this link, or by stopping by Ticket Central located in the John G. Kulhavi Events Center between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Single-game tickets are also on sale. For more information, click here.
—CMU—
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