March 6, 2026; Athens, Ohio, USA; Miami (OH) Redhawks forward Ian Elmer (0) drives to the basket after being fouled by Ohio Bobcats forward Aidan Hadaway (10) in the first half at Convocation Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Image Eian Elmer had 32 points and 12 rebounds and Trey Perry finished the first undefeated regular season in the Mid-American Conference’s 80-year history with a 110-108 overtime victory over host Ohio on Friday night in Athens, Ohio. No. 19 Miami (Ohio) added 21 points off the bench.
Brant Byers had 15 and Peter Suder added 13 as Miami (31-0, 18-0 MAC) joined Wichita State (2013-14), Kentucky (2014-15) and Gonzaga (2020-21) as the only teams this century to reach the conference tournament with a perfect record.
Jackson Paveletzke scored a career-high 37 points and Javan Simmons added 30 for Ohio (15-16, 9-9). The team lost to Miami at home for the first time since a 92-88 three-game losing streak on Jan. 9, 2011, snapping a 14-game winning streak against the MAC’s archrival in Athens.
Ajay Sheldon’s 30-foot-3 with 6:18 left tied the game at 88-88. Miami took a 93-88 lead before Ohio rallied. Simmons found Aidan Hadaway on a basket cut to make it 95-93 in Miami’s favor with 3:27 left. Paveletzke drained a rainbow 3 from 5 feet beyond the arc to put Miami up 97-96 with 2:33 left.
Simmons’ dunk with 40.8 seconds left finally tied Ohio at 100-100. Simmons blocked Souder’s drive, and the ball went out of bounds with 23.9 seconds left. After a video review, possession was awarded to Miami with 12 seconds left on the shot clock. Luke Scaljak’s 3-pointer fell short on the right baseline and Ohio got a loose ball with 13 seconds remaining.
Paveletzke’s floater in the lane went off the rim as regulation expired. Paveletzke’s layup 45 seconds into overtime gave Ohio its first lead since midway through the first half before Suder’s layup and a 3-point play free throw put Miami back on top 58 seconds into the frame.
After Miami took a 107-104 lead, Paveletzke hit a spinning layup and was fouled with 1:12 remaining. He missed the free throw and Miami clung to a one-point lead. Simmons put Ohio up 108-107 with a layup with 22 seconds left, and Souder put Miami up 109-108 with two 12.6 free throws.
Paveletzke missed a layup with 5 seconds left and Justin Kirby grabbed the rebound with 4.7 seconds left to seal the game. Kirby hit 1 of 2 free throws before Paveletzke’s 3 went off the mark as time expired.
Miami was ahead 61-50 with less than 17 minutes remaining when Paveletzke led the Ohio Charge with the help of Miami’s second skill of the game. Brant Byers was called for a technical with 15:16 left, and Paveletzke converted both free throws to pull Ohio within 65-62. Paveletzke drained a mid-range jumper in the paint to make it 14-4 and cut Miami’s lead to 65-64 with 15 minutes left.
But Miami responded with a Perry jumper in the paint to start a 9-1 RedHawks spurt. Miami built the lead back to 10, 77-67, when the RedHawks were called for their third tech of the game when Antwone Woolfolk and Ohio’s Simmons traded shoves. After Ohio drained 3 of 4 free throws, Sheldon knocked down a 3 to complete a six-point possession and cut Miami’s lead back to four points.
Moments later, Elmer was called for a serious foul and Ohio made 3 of 4 free throws to go up by nine points with 50 seconds to play.
–Field level media
