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THE BASICS
Score: Ohio 72, Kent State 61
Location: Convocation Center -- Athens, Ohio
The Short Story: Junior forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) set a new career-high with 28 points and had a team-high seven rebounds as the Ohio men's basketball team (13-7, 4-4 MAC) cruised to a 72-61 win over Mid-American Conference East Division rival Kent State (15-6, 6-2 MAC) on Friday (Jan. 29) in a nationally televised contest in front of 6,713 fans at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.

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

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

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Bobcats shot 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the field while going 7-of-20 from behind the arc. The Green & White converted 11-of-13 chances from the free throw line. Ohio held first-place Kent State to 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the field -- including 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from three-point range. The Bobcats edged Kent State in the statistical battle with advantages in points in the paint (34-26), rebounds (39-38), points off turnovers (13-8) and assists (17-6).
• Campbell shot 11-of-19 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe and finished with a team-high seven rebounds. He also posted two blocks and one steal in 30 minutes.
• Redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) recorded a game-high eight assists while tallying nine points. He went 3-of-8 from the field and finished with five rebounds in 34 minutes.
• Redshirt junior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio) shot 2-of-4 from three-point range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line to log 12 points -- including 10 in the first half. He also recorded three rebounds in 36 minutes.
• Redshirt senior forward Treg Setty (Maysville, Ky.) finished with nine points. He also notched four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 27 minutes.
• Freshman guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) provided seven points off of 3-of-5 shooting from the field. He also dished out six assists while snatching two rebounds in 37 minutes.
• The Flashes were led by a 23-point performance by redshirt junior forward Jimmy Hall. He finished with a double-double with a game-high 13 boards in addition to totaling two blocks and an assist in 33 minutes. 
• Redshirt junior guard Deon Edwin added 10 points to go along with four rebounds and a steal in 27 minutes for Kent State.
• Graduate guard Galal Cancer put in nine points while recording a team-high three steals, two assists, and two rebounds off the bench.
• Campbell netted the first Ohio bucket to tie the game at 2-2 with 16:30 remaining in the first half when Simmons found Campbell underneath for an easy layup on the left block.
• After its opening basket, Ohio settled in on both the offensive and defensive ends. The Bobcats spread the ball around as five different players accounted for the first 10 points. Ohio's defense also tightened up as it held Kent State to 1-of-10 shooting until the 10:40 mark in the first half.
• The Bobcat defense flustered Kent State in the first half as the Golden Flashes turned the ball over 11 times. Ohio capitalized on the Flashes' errors, scoring 11 points off turnovers in the opening half.
• Ohio rode its stingy defense to a 30-23 halftime advantage. Seven different Bobcats found their way into the scoring column. Kaminski led all scorers with 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting.
• Kent State tightened the game up early in the second half. The Golden Flashes got as close as 34-33 with 17:27 left in the game before the Bobcats answered back. Ohio found Campbell on five of seven possessions to make it 48-39 with 12:35 remaining in the game.
• The Bobcats remained hot from the field while not allowing Kent State to get in an offensive flow. Junior forward Wadly Mompremier (Miami, Fla.) personified both as he blocked an attempt at a layup by redshirt junior guard Kellon Thomas on one end and then raced down the floor finishing with a two-hand jam to make it 50-40.
• The Golden Flashes refused to go away before seven-straight points from Setty extended the Ohio lead to 61-51 with 4:27 remaining.
• Down the stretch, the Bobcats went back to the well running the offense through Campbell. The former high school quarterback got the ball on almost every possession, and he made all the right decisions -- including hitting the final basket of the game from five feet behind the arc to set a new career-high 28 points.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• The Bobcats picked up their second-straight win after knocking off MAC West Division foe Toledo, 81-79, on Tuesday (Jan. 26) at Savage Arena.
• The Bobcats improved to 92-48 (.657) all-time against Kent State and ended a four-game losing streak against the Golden Flashes. Ohio earned its first victory over the Golden Flashes since a 59-53 triumph at Kent State on Jan. 8, 2014.
• Ohio improved to 10-1 (.909) at home this season.
• Kent State's 23 first-half points marked the fewest the Bobcats have given up in the opening 20 minutes of a MAC game this season.
• Campbell finished in double digits in points for a team-high 17th time this season and 38th time in his career. Friday marked his team-high sixth game this season and seventh of his career scoring 20 or more points. Campbell led the Bobcats in scoring for a team-high seventh time this year. He also led the Bobcats in rebounding for a team-high 15th time this season.
• Kaminski tallied his second-straight double-digit scoring outing and 12th of the year.
• Simmons led the Bobcats in assists for a team-high 20th time this season. He has handed out at least five helpers in all but two games this year.

QUOTABLE
Second-year head coach Saul Phillips on the win
"I thought we did a very good job of battling a very strong, tough team. To come up even on the boards was big. Obviously, Tony Campbell was unbelievable. I thought the last two games have been huge steps forward in the maturation of this team from a toughness stand point."

Redshirt junior forward Kenny Kaminski on the team's defense
"I think this was definitely our best defensive game. The last time we played Kent we struggled guarding the ball. I think we did a pretty good job of doing that tonight. I don't think this was our best offensive game even though we did score 72."

Junior forward Antonio Campbell on scoring a career-high 28 points
"I just slowed down a little bit. I feel like I was trying to move too fast in the first half. That led to missed lay-ups and people blocking my shots. So, I just slowed down."

UP NEXT
The Bobcats continue their three-game homestand at the Convocation Center when they face MAC East Division rival Akron on Tuesday (Feb. 2) in a televised 7 p.m. ET matchup on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel and ESPN3. 

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