THE BASICS

Score: Central Michigan 68, Ohio 57

Location: The Convocation Center - Athens, Ohio

The Short Story: The Ohio men's basketball team (9-13, 4-7) suffered a 68-57 setback to Mid-American Conference West Division foe Central Michigan (17-5, 7-4 MAC) on Tuesday (Feb. 10) at the Convocation Center.

OHIO STARTERS: #3 Javarez Willis, #5 Maurice Ndour, #14 Ryan Taylor, #24 Mike Laster, #33 Antonio Campbell

CENTRAL MICHIGAN STARTERS: #2 Luke Meyer, #4 Rayshawn Simmons, #5 Braylon Rayson, #15 Chris Fowler, #34 John Simons

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Central Michigan took a 39-20 halftime lead after holding Ohio to 28 percent shooting (7-of-25) in the first half and forcing 10 turnovers by the Bobcats.
• Ohio outscored the Chippewas over the final 20 minutes of play, 37-29, and finishing the contest shooting 40 percent as a team (20-of-50) after shooting 52 percent (13-of-25) in the second half. 
• Senior guard Stevie Taylor (Gahanna, Ohio) led the Bobcats with 15 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists.
• Senior forward Maurice Ndour (Mbour, Senegal) added nine points, seven rebounds, a game-high three blocks, an assist and a steal.
• Redshirt senior guard Javarez Willis (Homer, La.) recorded nine points, a team-high five assists and a steal.
• Freshman guard Ryan Taylor (Gary, Ind.) posted eight points and two rebounds.
• Sophomore forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) and redshirt junior forward Treg Setty (Maysville, Ky.) each totaled seven points. Campbell hauled in a team-high eight rebounds while dishing out two assists and tallying a block. Setty added two rebounds.
• Junior forward John Simons led Central Michigan with a double-double, totaling a game-high 18 points, 13 rebounds and three steals as well as handing out an assist.
• Junior guard Rayshawn Simmons chipped in 14 points, four rebounds and two assists for the Chippewas.
• Junior guard Austin Stewart totaled nine points, seven rebounds and a steal for Central Michigan.
• The Chippewas received a game-high seven assists from junior guard Chris Fowler in addition to six points, five rebounds and a steal.
• The Bobcats trailed the Chippewas, 18-4, at the 11:42 mark, as Central Michigan limited the Bobcats to 1-of-9 from the field and forced six turnovers.

• Central Michigan built its lead to 39-20 at the half behind 13 points from Simons.

• The Chippewas shot just 13-of-34 (38.2 percent) from the field and 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) on three-point shots in the opening 20 minutes.

• After falling behind by as much as 25, Ohio strung together an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 56-40 at the 6:32 mark of the second half. Campbell contributed five points during the stretch.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Stevie Taylor recorded his seventh double-digit scoring outing of the 2014-15 season and 22nd of his career. He led Ohio in scoring for the first time this year.
• Ndour has recorded at least seven rebounds 16 times season and has totaled at least three blocks in nine of the last 12 contests -- including four straight games. 
• Campbell led Ohio in rebounding for the eighth time this year while Willis led the Bobcats in assists for the team-high 13th time this season.

QUOTABLE

First-Year Head Coach Saul Phillips

• "The energy level had been good all week, but it certainly did not translate to tonight's game, and, without question, some of that lies on the team, but some of that lies with me."

Senior Guard Stevie Taylor

• "We just couldn't get the ball where we wanted to get the ball tonight. Hats off to (Central Michigan), they played a good game."

Redshirt Junior Forward Treg Setty

• "We've got to look inside. We've got to be introspective and try to figure out what's wrong so we can go to Miami and get a win."

UP NEXT

• Ohio takes to the road for its first 'Battle of the Bricks' matchup of the season against MAC East Division archrival Miami on Saturday (Feb. 14) in Oxford, Ohio. Tip time is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. The contest will be televised in conjunction with Classic Video Productions and ESPN and will air on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel in Ohio and Western New York as well as ESPN3 and ESPN Full Court nationally.

#SaulBall