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THE BASICS
Score: Ohio 81, Toledo 79
Location: Savage Arena -- Toledo, Ohio
The Short Story: Redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) tied the school and conference record with 17 assists and recorded his fourth double-double of the 2015-16 season with 12 points as the Ohio men's basketball team (12-7, 3-4 MAC) held on for a wild 81-79 win over Mid-American Conference West Division foe Toledo (12-8, 3-4 MAC) on Tuesday (Jan. 26) at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

OHIO STARTERS: #0 Treg Setty, #2 Jaaron Simmons, #13 Kenny Kaminski, #33 Antonio Campbell, #35 Jordan Dartis

TOLEDO STARTERS: #1 Jonathan Williams, #3 Stuckey Mosley, #13 Jaelan Sanford, #33 Zach Garber, #53 Nathan Boothe

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Bobcats shot a season-best 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the field and matched their season high with 14 three-point field goals made on 27 attempts. Ohio held Toledo to 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the field -- including 40.0 percent (10-of-25) from three-point range. The Bobcats came away victorious despite Toledo winning the statistical battle in points in the paint (32-28), bench points (19-11), points off turnovers (13-7) and second chance points (10-2).
• Simmons recorded eight assists in the first half and nine in the second. He went 4-of-8 from the field and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe and finished with five rebounds and a steal while playing all 40 minutes.
• Redshirt junior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio) shot 8-of-16 from the field -- including 5-of-12 from three-point range -- to log a game-high 22 points. He also recorded five rebounds and an assist in 33 minutes.
• Junior forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting -- including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc -- and nearly finished with a double-double with nine rebounds. He also posted a game-high two blocks and two steals in 31 minutes.
• Redshirt senior forward Treg Setty (Maysville, Ky.) finished with 12 points courtesy of a 4-of-6 effort from the field -- including 2-for-2 from deep. He also notched four rebounds in 27 minutes.
• Freshman guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) provided nine points off of 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range. He also grabbed two rebounds in 26 minutes.
• The Rockets were led by a pair of 21-point performances by senior center Nathan Boothe and junior guard Jonathan Williams. Boothe achieved a double-double with a game-high 11 boards in addition to totaling two assists, a block and a steal in 36 minutes. Williams knocked down three treys and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He recorded a team-high five assists, four rebounds, a block and a steal in 34 minutes.
• Freshman forward Nate Navigato sank three three-point field goals and finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes off of the bench for Toledo.
• Freshman guard Jaelan Sanford and junior guard Jordan Lauf each posted nine points apiece for the Rockets. Sanford also tallied two assists in 34 minutes while Lauf grabbed three boards and dished out three helpers in 27 minutes.
• The Bobcats took a seven-point lead into halftime, holding a 37-30 advantage over the Rockets. Ohio owned a 21-point lead with 8:29 left in the first half, using 12 points -- including two treys -- by Kaminski and threes by Dartis, Campbell and Setty to build a 32-11 advantage. Toledo stormed back, though, outscoring the Bobcats by a 19-5 count over the final eight-plus mintues of the half. Seven points by Williams, four by Lauf and Boothe and a trey by Sanford sparked Toledo's rally.
• The second half began in the same manner as the first, with back-to-back-to-back treys by Dartis, Setty and Campbell, a jumper by Setty and a trey by Kaminski allowing the Bobcats to build a game-high 22-point lead while holding the Rockets scoreless over the first three-plus minutes of the final 20 minutes of play.
• Ohio led by as many as 20 with just over 11 minutes to go and 19 with just under nine minutes to play as Campbell knocked down a three to make it 72-53 in favor of the Bobcats.
• The Rockets did not go away quietly, though, putting together a furious 21-2 run over the next five minutes to knot the score at 74-all with 3:47 to play. Eleven points from Williams and both a trey and a conventional three-point play by Boothe helped key Toledo's furious comeback.
• After Kaminski and Navigato traded threes, Simmons drew a foul and calmly sank both free throws to put Ohio back up by two at 79-77 with 2:30 to go. Campbell then came up with two enormous steals on Toledo's next two possessions to keep the Rockets from scoring. Setty was then fouled with 18 seconds left and converted both freebies to make it a four-point game at 81-77.
• The drama was not quite finished, though, as Sanford was fouled by Ohio in act of shooting a three with six seconds left. Sanford made the first two free throws to make it a two-point game, then missed the third. Lauf came up with the offensive rebound for the Rockets, but a last-ditch three point attempt by Williams to win the game was off the mark, allowing Ohio to survive.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Ohio earned its first MAC road victory of the 2016 season.
• The Bobcats improved to 69-56 (.552) all-time against Toledo and ended a two-game losing streak against the Rockets. Ohio earned its first victory in the Glass City since a 65-58 triumph over Toledo on Feb. 4, 2010.
• Ohio scored at least 80 points for the 10th time this season, a mark reached just five times in 30 games in the 2014-15 season.
• Simmons matched the school-record 17 assists set by guard D.J. Cooper on Jan. 5, 2013. Simmons and Cooper share the conference record for assists in a game with Eddie Schilling of Miami (Feb. 4, 1987 vs. Kent State) and Todd Dietrich of Western Michigan (Jan. 10, 1979 vs. Eastern Michigan). Simmons led the team in assists for the 19th time this season. He has handed out at least five assists in all but two games in 2015-16 and has tallied digit assists three times. Simmons finished in double figures in points for the 14th time this year.
• Kaminski tallied his fourth outing with at least 20 points and led the team in scoring for the fourth time this year. He finished in double figures for the 11th time this season and fifth time in the last seven games.
• Campbell finished in double digits in points for a team-high 16th time this season and 37th time in his career. He led the Bobcats in rebounding for a team-high 14th time this year.
• Setty logged a double-digit scoring outing for the 10th time this year and 13th time in his career.

QUOTABLE
Second-year head coach Saul Phillips on a huge night by sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons
"Jaaron was the catalyst for us and put us in position…17 assists in a 40-minute game is just incredible. He's our swagger. He makes other people better."

Redshirt junior Jaaron Simmons on the win
"This is probably the most happy I've been after a game since high school. To get our first true road win, in this environment -- it got pretty loud in here -- it feels great."

Junior forward Antonio Campbell on the prospect of starting a winning streak
"We've seen what it takes and want to keep it going. (If) we win all three of those, we'd be sitting pretty nice."

UP NEXT
The Bobcats return to the Convocation Center to battle MAC East Division rival Kent State on Friday (Jan. 29) in a nationally televised 9 p.m. ET matchup on ESPNU. Ohio fell to the Golden Flashes, 89-82, on Jan. 16 at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio, in the first meeting between the two squads this season. Kent State (15-5, 6-1 MAC) is coming off of a 73-58 home win over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, has won five in a row and sits atop the MAC standings.

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