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THE BASICS
Score: Kent State 89, Ohio 82
Location: M.A.C. Center â€" Kent, Ohio
The Short Story: The Ohio men's basketball team (10-6, 1-3 MAC) could not overcome a 16-point second-half deficit, falling to Mid-American Conference East Division rival Kent State (12-5, 3-1 MAC), 89-82, on Saturday (Jan. 16) at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio.

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

KENT STATE STARTERS: #1 Xavier Pollard, #5 Kellon Thomas, #21 Khaliq Spicer, #30 Deon Edwards, #35 Jimmy Hall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Golden Flashes converted 15 Ohio turnovers into 17 points and outscored the Bobcat bench, 30-16. The shooting totals were relatively even, with Kent State shooting 46.7 percent (28-of-60) and Ohio shooting 45.8 percent (27-of-59). The Golden Flashes shot 42.9 percent from three-point range while limiting the Bobcats to 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from beyond the arc. Ohio lost despite connecting on 20-of-22 free throw attempts and outrebounding Kent State, 37-33.
• Redshirt junior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio) and junior forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) each tallied 21 points to lead the Bobcats. Kaminski shot 6-of-11 from the field -- including 4-of-8 from three-point range. He also converted 5-of-6 free throw attempts. Kaminski tallied eight rebounds, a team-high two steals and an assist over 37 minutes. Campbell shot 7-of-17 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. He also hauled in nine rebounds, one assist and a block in 31 minutes.
• Redshirt senior forward Treg Setty (Maysville, Ky.) and freshman guard/forward Gavin Block (Lincoln, Ill.) each recorded 12 points for Ohio. Setty shot 4-of-9 and grabbed four boards and dished out an assist in 29 minutes. Block, who returned after sitting out the previous game with an injury, went 3-of-6 from the field -- including 2-of-3 from three -- in addition to logging an assist and a steal in 23 minutes of work off of the bench.
• Redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) nearly achieved a double-double with eight points and a game-high nine assists. He also collected three rebounds in 34 minutes.
• Kent State boasted a pair of 20-plus point scorers in redshirt senior guard Xavier Pollard and redshirt junior guard Kellon Thomas. Pollard went 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-8 from the line to finish with a game-high 23 points. He also finished with three rebounds, a game-high three steals and two assists in 29 minutes. Thomas totaled 20 points off of 5-of-12 shooting from the field and 10-of-13 shooting from the charity stripe. He also recorded three rebounds and an assist in 33 minutes.
• Freshman guard Jaylin Walker came off the bench to score 16 points off of 5-of-8 shooting -- including 3-of-3 from three-point land -- for the Golden Flashes. He also notched two rebounds, two assists and a steal over 23 minutes.
• Redshirt junior forward Jimmy Hall achieved a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for Kent State. He also posted an assist and a steal in 30 minutes.
• The Bobcats built up a game-high nine-point lead at 22-13 with just over 11 minutes to play in the first half, utilizing 11 points from Kaminski -- including three treys -- over the opening eight-plus minutes of the contest.
• Kent State retaliated with a 9-0 run over the ensuing two-plus minutes to knot the score at 22-all with 8:55 to go in the first half. Seven points by Walker -- including a three to tie things up -- led the charge for the Flashes.
• Ohio built its lead back up to four at 28-24 with just under seven minutes remaining in the half, but a 10-6 spurt by Kent State evened things up again at 34-all with just under four minutes left. The Bobcats went back up by three at 37-34 with 44 seconds on the clock, but a layup by Hall and a pair of free throws by senior forward Chris Ortiz allowed the Flashes to take a 38-37 edge into halftime.
• Another three and a pair of free throws by Kaminski allowed Ohio to take a one-point lead at 42-41 with 18 minutes to play, but that's the last time the Bobcats led. Kent State put together a 33-16 run over the next 12 minutes to take the largest lead of the game at 16 at 74-58. Seven points by Hall and graduate guard Galal Cancer, six by Walker and five by Thomas helped the Golden Flashes build up a commanding advantage with just over six minutes to play.
• The Bobcats continued to battle, though, outscoring Kent State by a 17-6 count over the next four and a half minutes thanks in large part to eight points by Campbell, cutting the Golden Flashes' lead down to five at 80-75 with just over a minute to play.
• A trey by Block made it a four-point game with 32 seconds left, but three free throws by Pollard and a pair by Thomas helped Kent State seal the win.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• Kaminski finished in double figures for the second-straight game, third time in the last four games and ninth time this season. He logged his third 20-point outing of the year.
•Campbell recorded double-digit points for the third-straight game, team-high 13th time this year and 34th time in his career. He recorded his team-high fifth 20-point game of the season and sixth of his career. Campbell led the team in rebounding for a team-high 11th time time this year. 
• Setty finished in double figures for the sixth time in the last seven games, ninth time this year and 12th time in his career.
• Block finished in double digits in scoring for the third time.
• Simmons led the team in assists for the 16th time this year. He tallied at least five assists for the 14th time this season.

QUOTABLE
Second-year head coach Saul Phillips on the loss
"I thought they did a good job in the second half, Kent State, of getting downhill on us. We didn’t guard the ball very well. We just were not able to guard the dribble. It’s something I have to find a solution to for this group."

Redshirt junior forward Kenny Kaminski on the loss
"Extremely disappointing. This is hardest I’ve ever worked in my life. We’ve got a group of guys who love each other and do everything they can for each other."

Junior forward Antonio Campbell on team's defensive struggles
"Sitting down and guarding the ball. When we can guard the ball, we become a great team. Until then, we keep getting blown by and guys are getting in foul trouble, like myself. It puts me in a bad spot. It gives them a chance for offensive rebounds as well."

UP NEXT
The Bobcats head back home to play host to MAC West Division foe Western Michigan next Tuesday (Jan. 19) in a 7 p.m. ET matchup at the Convocation Center that will be televised on the American Sports Network. 

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