Simmons, Paveletzke lead Ohio over UMass 86-83

By Canadian Press on January 6, 2026.

ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — Javan Simmons led Ohio with 20 points, and Jackson Paveletzke sealed the victory with a free throw with 59 seconds remaining as the Bobcats defeated UMass 86-83 on Tuesday.

Simmons added five rebounds for the Bobcats (9-7, 3-1 Mid-American Conference). JJ Kelly scored 14 points while going 5 of 6 from the field. Jesse Burris went 5 of 8 from the field (3 for 6 from 3-point range) to finish with 13 points.

The Minutemen (9-7, 0-4) were led in scoring by Daniel Hankins-Sanford, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Marcus Banks added 14 points and two steals for UMass. Danny Carbuccia had 13 points and eight assists.

Kelly scored a team-high 12 points for Ohio in the second half.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press