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ATHENS, Ohio -- Senior forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) notched his second-straight double-double and third of the 2016-17 season with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds while sophomore guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) drained six treys en route to 20 points to help the Ohio men's basketball team (5-1) best Bryant (3-6), 79-53, on Saturday (Dec. 3) at the Convocation Center.
The 26-point triumph marked Ohio's largest margin of victory this year.
The Bobcats shot 40 percent (26-of-65) from the field -- including 41.9 percent (13-of-31) from beyond the arc. Ohio limited the Bulldogs to just 53 points -- the lowest scoring output by a Bobcat opponent this season -- off of 36.2 percent (21-of-58) shooting -- including just 30 percent (6-of-20) from three-point range.
Ohio made 10 of its 13 three-pointers in the first half, marking the second time this season the Bobcats have tallied double-digit treys in the opening 20 minutes of play.
"I feel it’s the mentality we have going into a game," said Dartis of Ohio's strong performance. "If we do what we gotta do, play high energy defense and knock down the shots the way we are, we can win any game."
Campbell shot an efficient 8-of-10 from the floor -- including 3-of-4 from deep -- and sank four of his five attempts from the charity stripe. He also posted a game-high two blocks as well as two assists in 28 minutes of work. Campbell has now tallied 29 career double-doubles and has finished with at least 20 points four times this year. The Bobcats are 13-4 when he scores at least 20 points in a game over the course of his career.
Dartis matched his season high with six made treys and logged his second outing with at least 20 points over the last three contests. He also added six rebounds and two assists over 27 minutes.
Redshirt junior guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) nearly collected a double-double with nine points and a game-high nine assists, the latter of which matched his season high. He also added two boards in 26 minutes of action.
Freshman guard Rodney Culver (Columbus, Ohio) used a 4-of-9 shooting effort to help him match his career high with nine points. He also logged a career-high four rebounds and an assist in 22 minutes off of the bench.
Sophomore forward Doug Taylor (Columbus, Ohio) also gave the Bobcats a strong effort off the bench, matching his career highs with eight points and eight rebounds. He also added a block in 11 minutes of work.
Sophomore guard Nisre Zouzoua led Bryant with 16 points off of a 6-of-14 performance from the field -- including going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. He also recorded six rebounds and a game-high three steals in 34 minutes.
Freshman guard Adam Grant also finished in double figures in points for the Bulldogs with 12 in addition to totaling a rebound and an assist over 35 minutes.
Freshman guard Ikenna Ndugba logged a team-high 10 rebounds and four assists for Bryant. He also posted two points and a steal in 32 minutes.
The contest was closely contested over the first 13-plus minutes of play, with a layup by Bryant junior forward/center Gus Riley cutting Ohio's lead down to two at 28-26 with 6:36 left in the second half. A trey by Dartis 28 seconds later provided the Bobcats with the spark they needed, though, as Ohio closed the half out on a 22-7 run, utilizing four triples from Dartis and a dunk by Taylor to enter halftime with a 17-point advantage. Dartis scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half off of five treys.
After Campbell sank a three with 16:05 left in the game, the Bobcats never led by less than 20 points the rest of the way, with a conventional three-point play by Culver with just under five minutes remaining giving Ohio a game-high 30-point cushion.
In addition to the victory, Ohio men's basketball celebrated its Alumni Weekend by welcoming back many of its former players as well as Bryant head coach Tim O'Shea, who served as the Bobcats' head coach for seven seasons (2001-08). O'Shea guided Ohio to a 120-95 (.558) record during his tenure, with his crowning achievement coming in 2005 with a Mid-American Conference Tournament title and an NCAA Championship berth.
"We had some big wins over Miami here which was always a big rivalry game when Charlie Coles was the coach," said O'Shea of his time in Athens. "The biggest memory would have been the tip-in against Buffalo to go to the NCAAs."
Ohio faces a tough road challenge next Saturday (Dec. 10) in New Rochelle, N.Y., when it visits Iona in a 2 p.m. ET matchup. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN3 via WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
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