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ATHENS, Ohio -- With four players in double-figures, the Ohio men's basketball team (1-0) topped Southern (0-1), 77-67, in the 2016-17 season opener on Saturday (Nov. 12) at the Convocation Center. The Bobcats picked up their 13th-straight season-opening victory.

Sophomore guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio), redshirt senior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio), senior forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) and redshirt junior guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) combined to score for 54 of Ohio's 77 points. Dartis led the way with a team-high 15 points, knocking down three treys and going a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Kaminski drilled a game-high four threes en route to scoring 14 points. Campbell totaled 14 points to go along with seven rebounds. Simmons chipped in 11 points and distributed a game-high five assists.

The Bobcats trailed for the majority of the first half, with Southern leading by as many as six points after redshirt senior guard Shawn Prudhomme knocked down a jumper with just under four minutes to go to give the Jaguars a 36-30 advantage. Ohio took a 42-38 lead into halftime, though, thanks to a 12-2 run down the final stretch of the opening 20 minutes that was highlighted by a three by Campbell and a put-back dunk by freshman guard Rodney Culver (Columbus, Ohio), who finished with nine points in his collegiate debut.

"I saw Doug get the ball, and I thought he was gonna get trapped," said Culver. "I flashed to the middle thinking he was going to pass it to me, but he put it up and nobody boxed me out and I just went up and got it."



Ohio forced 11 turnovers in the first half, with three coming off of steals and a block from sophomore forward Doug Taylor (Columbus, Ohio). Taylor finished with two blocks and a game-high eight rebounds in 13 minutes off of the bench.

Entering the second half, third-year head coach Saul Phillips said he felt comfortable with the four-point lead, thinking his team would be able to put on the defensive pressure it needed to to pull away.

A pair of jumpers by redshirt junior forward Patrick Smith and a layup by senior forward JaMarcus Weatherspoon allowed the Jaguars to even the score at 44-all with a little over 17 minutes to go, but two triples by Kaminski and one each by Campbell and Daris helped the Bobcat lead swell to as many as 13 at 64-51 with just over nine minutes remaining.

Ohio led by 11 with just over four minutes left after Simmons made the first of two free throw attempts, but Southern cut its deficit down to seven with under three minutes remaining thanks to a three by senior guard Tre'lun Banks.

That's as close as the Bobcats let the Jaguars get, though, as an emphatic dunk by Campbell and a layup by Simmons power Ohio's final push to victory.

"It sunk in a lot better," said Kaminski of his 14-point performance. "I felt like I did a lot better today. I was a little cold early. I think everyone had a little bit of jitters and adrenaline with it being the first game. There were multiple times we got together as a team and said, 'Relax. Now it's just another day of basketball.'"

Phillips said the key to the second half was the defense, as Ohio was able to hold Southern to just 32.3 percent (10-of-31) from the field over the final 20 minutes after the Jaguars shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) in the first half. Ohio limited the opportunities for Southern to shoot the ball, too, forcing 10 second-half turnovers.

"It means I didn't waste the summer," said Phillips with a smile after the game. "You can sit around and say you want to get better defensively, but what you need to move the needle is for your best players to say you want to get better defensively."



Southern was led by a 15-point effort off the bench by redshirt junior guard Chris Thomas. Prudhomme was 5-of-7 from the field -- including 2-of-3 from deep -- to finish with 12 points. Banks added 11 while Smith chipped in 10 and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

"Wasn't the prettiest, but it was the first," said Phillips. "So far, my favorite win of the year. I thought we did a darn good job defensively in the second half. We need to shoot free throws a little better. We need to finish some plays. We need to put a little more distance between us and them. I didn't think we did a good job of closing them out."

Ohio will have a quick turnaround for game two as it plays host to Sam Houston State next Monday (Nov. 14) at 7 p.m. ET at the Convo. The game will be streamed on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. The Bearkats posted a 104-57 victory over NCAA Division III LeTourneau on Saturday in Huntsville, Texas.

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