ATHENS, Ohio — Freshman guard Ché Brogan needed only 12 minutes to become the story of Ohio’s home opener. Brogan scored 18 points off the bench without missing a shot as the Bobcats beat North Carolina A&T 80-70 on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center, according to Ohio University Athletics’ recap and the Athens Messenger’s report of the game.
Brogan, from Melbourne, Australia, went 5-for-5 from the field, 1-for-1 from three and 7-for-7 at the free-throw line, with three rebounds, two assists and a steal, Basketball.com.au reported in its roundup of Australian players in U.S. college basketball. The Athens Messenger reported that Brogan thrived in his home debut and hit a game-sealing triple that pushed Ohio’s lead back to nine with 90 seconds remaining.
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He had company at the top of the box score. Redshirt senior forward Javan Simmons also scored 18 points, going 8-of-11 from the field with six rebounds, Ohio Athletics reported. Sophomore Dusan Makitan logged a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double in a team-high 35 minutes, the Athens Messenger reported, and fifth-year guard Jackson Paveletzke added 10 points, six assists and five rebounds — scoring his 1,000th point as a Bobcat in the opening minutes.
Ohio (2-0) led 38-31 at halftime and controlled the glass throughout, outrebounding the Aggies (1-1) 42-29 and dishing out 15 assists to North Carolina A&T’s eight, according to Ohio Athletics. The Messenger described a physical, foul-filled battle in which the Aggies kept pushing back before Brogan’s late three and free throws restored a double-digit lead in the final 25 seconds.
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The win follows Ohio’s 86-77 season-opening victory at South Alabama on Nov. 2 in the MAC-SBC Challenge, giving the Bobcats a 2-0 start with two different leading performances — Kolton Mitchell’s career-high three-point night in the opener, and Brogan’s perfect afternoon in the home debut.
Early as it is, the Bobcats are getting scoring from across the roster: three players in double figures against the Aggies, a double-double from Makitan and a milestone night from Paveletzke, a veteran guard whose 1,000th Ohio point arrived in the opening minutes of the home schedule.
What happens next: Ohio now faces its marquee early-season test on the road. The Bobcats travel to West Lafayette on Friday, November 13, for a 7 p.m. tipoff against Purdue at Mackey Arena, according to the Athens Messenger.
Photo: Dan Keck, CC0