THE BASICS 

Score: Ohio 76, Eastern Michigan 73

Location: The Convocation Center - Athens, Ohio

The Short Story: The Ohio men's basketball team (9-12, 4-6 MAC) exacted revenge on Eastern Michigan (14-9, 3-7 MAC) after a loss earlier in the season, defeating the Eagles, 76-73, on Saturday (Feb. 7) at the Convocation Center.

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

EASTERN MICHIGAN STARTERS: #1 Mike Talley, #3 Anali Okoloji, #4 Brandon Nazione, #5 Jodan Price, #21 Jerome Hunter

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ohio shot 47.1 percent (24-of-51) from the field -- including 57.1 percent (12-of-21) in the second half.

• The Bobcats outrebounded Eastern Michigan, 38-28.

• Redshirt senior forward Javarez Willis (Homer, La.) once again put together a strong performance for Ohio, leading the Bobcats with 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting -- including 6-of-15 from three-point land. He also tallied three assists, three rebounds and a steal.

• Senior forward Maurice Ndour (Mbour, Senegal) added 16 points, nine rebounds, a game-high four blocks, three assists and a steal.

• Sophomore forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied 11 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. 

• Senior guard Stevie Taylor (Gahanna, Ohio) and redshirt junior forward Treg Setty (Maysville, Ky.) each contributed seven points off of the bench. Setty compiled six rebounds while Taylor recorded three rebounds, two assists and two steals. 

• The Bobcats started slow offensively, falling behind the Eagles by a 10-2 margin at the 14:47 mark of the first half. 

• The Bobcats roared back, though, putting together an 18-4 run to take a 20-14 lead with 6:30 remaining in the opening stanza.

• Ohio wouldn't relinquish the lead, building it to 33-24 at the half, fueled by triples from Willis and freshman guard Ryan Taylor (Gary, Ind.).

• Willis led all scorers with 13 points while Ndour added eight points with seven rebounds.

• Sophomore forward Tony Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) grabbed nine rebounds in the opening half while notching two assists and two blocks.

• Ohio outrebounded Eastern Michigan 23-15 in the first half and held the Eagles to 10-of-29 (34.5 percent) shooting.

• Eastern Michigan opened the second half on a 14-6 run, trimming the Ohio lead to 39-38. A triple by Willis, a three-point play by Ndour and a pair of free throws from freshman guard Khari Harley (Egg Harbor, N.J.) stretched the lead to 47-40 at the 13:12 mark of the final stanza.

• With the lead at 47-42, first-year head coach coach Saul Phillips inserted a bigger lineup with only one player shorter than six-foot-eight and stretched the Ohio lead to 61-46.

• Despite a 31-point second half performance from Eastern Michigan redshirt sophomore guard Raven Lee, the Bobcats held off a furious Eagle comeback to emerge with the victory.

• Lee led all scorers with 33 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Redshirt sophomore guard/forward Jodan Price also hit double figures with 12 points.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Bobcats have won four of their last six games since starting MAC play 0-4.

• Willis has surpassed the 20-point mark five times this season, has reached double figures 14 times this year and 24 times in his career and has led Ohio in scoring a team-high 10 times in 2014-15. 

• Ndour reached double figures for a team-high 18th time this season and 43rd time in his career. He's posted double digits in 12 of the last 13 games. Ndour has recorded at least three blocks in eight of the last 11 games -- including three straight. 

• Campbell has tallied five double-doubles this season and posted his second double-double against Eastern Michigan this year. He hit double figures in scoring for the 11th time this season and 12th time in his career and double digits in rebounds for the sixth time this season. Campbell's reached double digits in scoring each of the last three contests.

QUOTABLE

First-Year Head Coach Saul Phillips 

• "We were much better in transition tonight. At times, in the second half in particular, I thought our zone offense really got clicking and looked the way I like it to look."

Redshirt Senior Guard Javarez Willis

• "Today we didn't give up as many fastbreak points and that's how that team scores, getting to the rim, getting a lot of free throws. I think today we got back and played solid and made them work their offense in the half court."

Sophomore Forward Antonio Campbell

• "The first game (against Eastern Michigan) we rushed a lot of stuff, rushed mostly everything we did and that led to turnovers. So today was patience. It's going to be there, you just have to make the right pass."

UP NEXT

Ohio concludes its three-game homestand next Tuesday (Feb. 10), playing host to Central Michigan in a 7 p.m. ET battle at the Convocation Center.

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