Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |  Photo Gallery 

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio men's basketball team (6-2) took down Milwaukee (4-7), 71-69, on Wednesday (Dec. 14) at the Convocation Center behind senior forward Antonio Campbell's (Cincinnati, Ohio) third straight double-double and fourth of the 2016-17 season.

The Bobcats shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the field and won despite shooting just 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from the free throw line and committing 13 turnovers, which led to 15 points from the Panthers. Milwaukee's bench also outscored Ohio's bench, 26-13.

"There are games when the season is over when you sit back and reminisce; this is not one of those games," said third-year head coach Saul Phillips. "Too many missed free throws, too many missed layups. We actually did a sneaky better job defensively, other than some miscommunication in transition. In the half court, we got better and better."

Campbell finished with a game-high 19 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes while shooting 9-of-18 from the field. He has now tallied 30 career double-doubles.

Redshirt junior guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) played all 40 minutes and dished out nine assists to match his season high. He also recorded 14 points and five rebounds. 

"I viewed it as a game where we have a lot to improve on," said Simmons. "We let No. 5 (Milwaukee senior guard Cody Wichmann) play well, and our entire scouting report was focused on him. We let him get off a lot of three-pointers in the first half, but we did a way better job in the second half. We got a lot to improve on, but as coach always says, we would rather improve with a smile than a frown."

Redshirt senior Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio) and sophomore guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) each contributed nine points, with each player dropping three triples apiece. Dartis also finished with six rebounds, an assist and a steal in 38 minutes of work while Kaminski chipped in five boards and a block over 28 minutes.

Ohio got eight points off the bench in 11 minutes from sophomore forward Doug Taylor (Columbus, Ohio).

"We held a team to under one point per possession, which is good," said Phillips. "I thought Doug took a real step forward tonight, he was just good. I thought (freshman guard) Rodney (Culver) did a good job defensively. I thought (freshman forward) Jason (Carter) was good on the glass. It was a tighter bench tonight."

Ohio led by as many nine with 12:50 left on the clock in the first half, as Campbell provided seven points and Kaminski and Dartis each knocked down a pair of treys.

The Panthers battled back, however, to take a 31-28 lead -- thanks in large part to four triples by Wichmann over the ensuing six minutes. The two foes battled back-and-forth the rest of the half with the Bobcats leading at halftime, 36-35, after Simmons assisted Campbell on an alley-oop dunk to end the half.

The contest continued to be a close battle throughout the second half as neither team led by more than four points until Campbell made a layup to extend the Ohio lead to five with 4:46 to play. Despite the game being so close throughout the final 20 minutes, the Bobcats did not trail for the final 13:29 of play. Four free throws by Simmons allowed the Bobcats to ice the victory.

Three Milwaukee players finished in double figures, with Wichman dropping a team-high 15 points while going 5-of-9 from the field -- including 5-of-8 from three.

Freshman guard August Haas scored 11 points, going 5-of-10 from the field, and freshman guard Bryce Barnes scored 11 off the bench for the Panthers, thanks in large part to going 6-6 from the free-throw line.

Redshirt sophomore guard Brock Stull hauled in a team-high eight rebounds and handed out a team-high three assists for Milwaukee. He also chipped in six points and two steals.

Ohio plays host to another Horizon League foe on Saturday (Dec. 17) as Cleveland State (3-6) comes to town for a 2 p.m. ET contest.

#BleedGreen