THE BASICS

Score: Akron 70, Ohio 58

Location: James A. Rhodes Arena - Akron, Ohio

The Short Story: Sophomore forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded his third straight double-double with a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds, but the Ohio men's basketball team (9-18, 4-12 MAC) dropped a 70-58 decision to Mid-American Conference East Division rival Akron (18-11, 9-7 MAC) on Friday (Feb. 27) at James A. Rhodes Arena.

OHIO STARTERS: #3 Javarez Willis, #5 Maurice Ndour, #14 Ryan Taylor, #22 Stevie Taylor, #33 Antonio Campbell

AKRON STARTERS: #3 Nyles Evans, #4 Deji Ibitayo, #23 Isaiah Johnson, #34 Pat Forsythe, #55 Antino Jackson

HOW IT HAPPENED

- The Zips held the Bobcats to 32.1 percent shooting (17-of-53). Akron won the battle of the boards, 36-31, and outscored Ohio in bench points (24-5), points off of turnovers (13-6) and points in the paint (20-16).

- Campbell went 7-for-10 from the field and grabbed five offensive boards. He also posted a game-high three blocks to match his career high. He also tallied an assist.

- Senior forward Maurice Ndour (Mbour, Senegal) pitched in 13 points, knocking down 8-of-9 free throw attempts He also hauled in seven rebounds, dished out a team-high three assists, blocked two shots and collected a steal.

- Redshirt senior guard Javarez Willis (Homer, La) finished with 13 points, two rebounds, two steals and an assist.

- Freshman guard Antino Jackson led Akron with 13 points and a game-high five assists. He also totaled three rebounds and a steal.

- Sophomore center Isaiah Johnson went 5-of-10 from the field and finished with 12 points for the Zips. He also recorded three rebounds, three assists and a team-high two blocks.

- Junior wing Reggie McAdams totaled 11 points, two rebounds and an assist off of the bench for Akron.

- Senior guard Deji Ibitayo, junior center Pat Forsythe and junior wing Jake Kretzer all finished with eight points for the Zips. Ibitayo and Kretzer tied for the team lead with five rebounds.

- Ohio opened the contest white hot, jumping out to a 7-0 lead courtesy of a jumper by Nodur, a trey by freshman guard Ryan Taylor (Gary, Ind.) and a layup by Campbell. The Zips put together a 6-2 run to cut the Bobcat lead down to three before the first media break, though, utilizing a dunk and a layup by Forsythe and a layup by Johnson to shave Ohio's lead to 9-6.

- The Zips extended their run to 11-4, tying the contest at 11-all with by way of a jumper by sophomore forward Kwan Cheatham, Jr. with just under 11 minutes to go in the first half.

- The Bobcats responded with an 8-4 spurt to take a 19-15 advantage into the under-eight media timeout. The stretch was highlighted by a trey by redshirt freshman guard/forward Khari Harley (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) and a jumper and a three by Willis.

- Akron used a 5-1 run to cut Ohio's edge down to one at 21-20 at the final media timeout of the half, thanks in large part to a three by Ibitayo.

- The Zips closed the half on a 12-4 run, taking a 27-23 lead into halftime. Layups by Jackson and Johnson gave Akron a 22-21 lead with just over three minutes to go, and a trey by McAdams and another layup by Johnson helped the Zips take a four-point advantage into the locker room.

- After opening the contest shooting 4-for-9 (44.4 percent), Ohio closed the first half shooting just 5-of-20 (25 percent). Campbell led the first half with eight points and six rebounds.

- Akron extended its lead to six at 29-23 with 19:28 to play on a layup by Forsythe and again at 31-25 on a layup by McAdams three minutes later. Akron went up by seven at 34-27 after McAdams hit a three, but the Bobcats cut the Zips' lead back down to four at 34-30 at the first media timeout of the second half after a layup by Campbell and a three by Stevie Taylor.

- A three by Willis evened the score at 35-all with just over 14 minutes left, but the Zips put together a 5-0 run fueled by a layup by Johnson and a trey by McAdams to take a 40-35 advantage into the second media timeout of the second half.

- Ohio cut Akron's lead back down to two at 42-40 thanks to two free throws and a three by Ndour. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, Jackson banged in back-to-back treys to give Akron a 48-40 lead with just over nine minutes to go.

- The Zips outscored the Bobcats by a 28-18 count over the final 10 minutes of the contest, thanks in large part to Jackson going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the second half.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

- Campbell recorded his team-leading ninth double-double of the 2014-15 season. He reached double figures in scoring for a fifth straight game, 16th time this year and 21st time in his career. Campbell led the Bobcats in scoring for a fifth time this season and rebounding for a 12th time. He finished with double-digit boards for a team-leading 10th time this year.

- Ndour finished in double digits in scoring for a team-high 23rd time this year and 49th time in his career. He led the Bobcats in assists for the fifth time this season.

- Willis totaled double digits for a 17th time this season and 29th time in his career.

- Friday's game was broadcast nationally on ESPNU. It marked the fourth time this season the Bobcats appeared on ESPNU.

QUOTABLE

First-Year Head Coach Saul Phillips

- "You look down our stat line, and there's a 4-for-12, a 2-for-12, a 1-for-6, a 1-for-7, a 1-for-4...a lot of heavy numbers on the right-hand side of the ledger and not enough big ones on the left. They (Akron) had a run where they scored on nine of 10 possessions in the second half, and that's where they caused separation."

Sophomore Forward Antonio Campbell

- "We have yet this year to put a solid defensive 40 minutes together. Some people lose focus, worrying about what they're doing on offense or whether or not their man is beating them or not on defense. Sometimes that frustrates people."

UP NEXT

Ohio visits MAC East Division rival Buffalo next Tuesday (March 3) in its final road contest of the 2014-15 regular season. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. ET. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

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