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THE BASICS
Score: Ohio 85, Florida Gulf Coast 75
Location: Convocation Center - Athens, Ohio
The Short Story: With career-high nights from redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) and junior forward Wadly Mompremier (Miami, Fla.) and a dominant performance on the boards, the Ohio men's basketball team (1-0) won its 12th-straight season opener with an 85-75 victory over Florida Gulf Coast (0-1) on Saturday (Nov. 14) in front of 5,851 fans at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.

OHIO STARTERS: #0 Treg Setty, #2 Jaaron Simmons, #11 Khari Harley, #13 Kenny Kaminsky, #33 Antonio Campbell

FLORIDA GULF COAST STARTERS: #3 Julian DeBose, #5 Zach Johnson, #10 Kevin Mickle, #15 Filip Cvjeticanin, #25 Marc-Eddy Norelia

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Ohio shot 28-of-58 (48.3 percent) from the field.
• The Bobcats won the battle of the boards, 45-31.
• Ohio limited Florida Gulf Coast to 29-of-66 (43.9 percent) shooting from the field.
• The Bobcats also led the way in points in the paint (42-38), second-chance points (21-8) and bench points (25-13).
• Simmons led all Ohio scorers with a career-high 20 points -- including 13 from the free throw line -- in his Ohio debut. He also led the team with a career-high seven assists while grabbing a career-high four rebounds and a steal over 32 minutes.
• Redshirt junior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio) scored 17 points in his Bobcat debut while hauling in a career-high nine rebounds and a block in 35 minutes.
• Junior forward Wadly Mompremier (Miami, Fla.) had his first career double-double with a career-high 12 points and 12 rebounds -- including seven offensive boards. He also added two assists and a steal in 20 minutes of work off the bench.
• Junior forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 11 points for the 'Cats while grabbing six rebounds and posting a block in 14 minutes.
• Redshirt senior forward Treg Setty (Maysville, Ky.) dropped in nine points with three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 24 minutes.
• Redshirt junior forward Marc-Eddy Norelia led Florida Gulf Coast with a career-high 21 points while snatching a team-high nine boards. Norelia went 7-of-8 from the free throw line while also tallying a block and an assist in 24 minutes.
• Redshirt senior guard Julian DeBose tallied 16 points for the Eagles while tying for the team lead in assists with five. He also had four rebounds, two steals, and a block in 36 minutes.
• Redshirt sophomore forward Antravious Simmons tallied 12 points and seven rebounds over 23 minutes. He also had a team-high two blocks.
• Kaminski knocked down a jumper to open the scoring for the Bobcats. This sparked an 8-0 run for the Bobcats as they held an 8-2 advantage with 16:13 left in the first half.
• The Eagles quickly tightened the score as they went on a 16-9 run to grab the lead back at 18-17 with 10:36 left in the first half.
• A pair a baskets from sophomore guard Mike Laster (Detroit, Mich.) and Simmons sparked a mini run to give Ohio a 39-30 advantage with 2:03 to play in the first half. The late run helped the Bobcats take a 43-36 advantage into halftime.
• Ohio was hot from the field, shooting 15-of-27 (55.6 percent) in the first half while limiting Florida Gulf Coast to 15-of-32 (46.9 percent). The Bobcats also controlled the boards in the first half of play, snagging 21 rebounds to Florida Gulf Coast's 10. Ohio also took advantage of their opportunities for the free throw line converting on 10-of-12 attempts in the opening 20 minutes of play. Kaminski and Campbell each had nine points and four rebounds to lead the Bobcats. Simmons added six points while leading Ohio with five assists.
• Ohio's seven-point lead quickly vanished as a 7-0 spurt by the Eagles tied the score at 45-all with 17:46 remaining in the game.
• The score wasn't close for long, though, as the Bobcats went on a 12-4 run sparked by layups from Mompremier and Setty.
• With 13:04 remaining in the game, Norelia knocked down a jumper to cut Florida Gulf Coast's deficit to 57-52. The Bobcats stingy defense did not relinquish another point until another Norelia layup with 8:47 remaining in the game. By that time, Ohio held a 67-54 advantage and remained in command the rest of the way.
• Mompremier provided consistent offense in the low post, tallying seven of his 10 points in the second half. He also snagged eight of his 11 boards in the second half -- six of which were offensive rebounds.
• With the Bobcats ahead 76-70 with under a minute to play, Simmons salted the game away at the free throw line knocking down a pair to give Ohio a three-possession lead. He closed the game out by knocking down one of two from the stripe to give Ohio a 85-75 victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• The Bobcats improved to 2-0 in season openers under second-year head coach Saul Phillips.
• Ohio is now 1-1 (.500) all-time against Florida Gulf Coast.
• The 'Cats tallied 45 rebounds in a game for the first time since Dec. 30, 2014 -- a 72-53 victory over UNC Wilmington.
• Campbell recorded the 22nd double-digit scoring game of his career.
• Four Ohio freshmen -- guard James Gollon (Stevens Point, Wis.), guard/forward Gavin Block (Lincoln, Ill.), guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) and power forward Doug Taylor (Columbus, Ohio) -- made their career debuts. The last time the Bobcats put four freshmen on the floor in a season opener was Nov. 13, 2009 -- a 101-72 victory over Ohio Valley. That freshman foursome included forward Ivo Baltic, guard D.J. Cooper, forward Reggie Keely and guard David McKinley. The Bobcats went on to win the MAC Tournament championship that year and defeated Georgetown, 97-83, in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

QUOTABLE
Second-Year Head Coach Saul Phillips
"Wadly was everywhere. I can't tell you how much fun it is seeing a guy out there do some of the things he always told me he could, but I wasn't always sure that he could. I have to see it. I can't take for granted that it's going to happen. He's really flashed very recently here. It's a monster, it's becoming its own entity. I could see the Wadly merchandising coming around the corner. I don't know how many times I was think that the play was over and getting back on defense and here comes Wad out of nowhere. I'll take it a step further -- I think Doug was pretty good, too. There are going to be times where we have to lean on Tony pretty heavy. I don't have to play scared with Tony anymore when he fouls out because I felt really comfortable with Wadly coming down the stretch."

Redshirt Sophomore Guard Jaaron Simmons
"Coach always tells us when Tony is down, someone has to pick him up. When Kenny is down, someone has to pick him up. The lift that Wadly gave us was perfect. He had been playing like that all of preseason."

"We're just going to keep getting better each game. We're still a young team, so the ball movement and the shots that's all going to come with time."

Junior Forward Wadly Mompremier
"I think I surprised a lot of people. I'm going to keep on doing what I've been doing."

"Jaaron is not looking score. He's different. He's looking to pass first, and that's what I love about him. He loves to pass to us more than getting points. Who wouldn't love a point guard that passes you the ball?"

UP NEXT
The Bobcats return to the Convocation Center as they take on Tennessee State (1-0) on Monday (Nov. 16). Tip-off is set for 7 pm ET. The Tigers opened the 2015-16 season with a 86-71 win at Loyola (Md.) on Friday (Nov. 13) in Baltimore.

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