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ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio men's basketball team (8-3) shook off a slow start to cruise past Urbana (5-5), 77-50, behind a 19-0 run to begin the second half in its final non-conference matchup of the 2016-17 regular season on Friday (Dec. 30) at the Convocation Center.

"Kind of an inexplicable start for us," said third-year head coach Saul Phillips. "Give all the credit you can to how their (Urbana's) kids came out."

Redshirt senior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio) led all players with 18 points, going 6-of-13 from the field -- including 4-of-9 from three. He also added a season-high three assists as well as a rebound and a steal in his 28 minutes on the court.

"That's why the second half was so much better, because we responded to what Saul was talking about at halftime, and that's why it ended up a lopsided win," said Kaminski of Phillips' halftime speech.

Sophomore guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) dropped 14 points while shooting 50 percent (5-of-10) from the field -- including 4-of-8 from the three-point arc -- in addition to compiling four assists, three steals, three rebounds and a block over 33 minutes of work.

"The talk at halftime was just wake up, play our game," said Dartis.

Sophomore forward Doug Taylor (Columbus, Ohio) added a career-high 11 points, putting together a 3-of-3 effort from the field and a 5-of-8 night at the free throw line in his first start of the season. He also tallied three boards, an assist and a block in 26 minutes to go with his double-digit scoring effort.

Redshirt junior guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) totaled 10 points and added seven assists, four boards and two steals in his 31 minutes of play.

After former Bobcat forward and fan favorite Treg Setty entertained the crowd with a stirring rendition of the national anthem, the Bobcats got off to a strong start to the first half. Ohio led by 10 three times during the first four-plus minutes of play -- including a 22-12 lead after Taylor made a free throw with 10:26 remaining in the opening 20 minutes of action.

Urbana chipped away at Ohio's advantage, however, going on a 16-5 run to take its first lead of the game at 28-27 on a layup by freshman guard DeQuan Abrom with 4:27 remaining in the half. The run by the Blue Knights saw the Bobcats go on a five-minute scoreless stretch that was finally broken by a Kaminski jumper with just over two minutes left in the opening half.

Urbana shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from the field -- including 50 percent (6-of-12) from beyond the three-point arc -- while limiting Ohio to 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from the field in the first half en route to a 34-31 lead at the break for the Blue Knights.

Ohio came out with a head of steam in the second half, though, by starting on a 19-0 run culminating with sophomore guard/forward Gavin Block (Lincoln, Ill.) draining a three -- his first of seven points -- to give the Bobcats a 16-point lead at 50-34 with just under 14 minutes to go.

The Bobcats did not relinquish the edge the rest of the night as they extended their advantage to 28 points -- their largest of the game -- after a layup by junior guard Mike Laster (Detroit, Mich.) with just over three minutes remaining. Ohio gave up only 16 points to Urbana in the second half, marking the fewest points scored on Ohio in a half this season.

"I think we settled in a little bit," said Phillips. "Whether that's rust, indifference, whatever that is, I don't know, but it was gone immediately in that second half. Then, you come out and hold them scoreless for eight or nine possessions, and now you've got a run put on them, and everything's okay."

Urbana was led by sophomore forward Jahmere Howze, who finished the game with a team-high 14 points to go along with four rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes. Ohio's defense held him to just three points in the second half.

Adams also finished with double-digit points for the Blue Knights, scoring 12 in addition to chipping in a rebound and an assist in 23 minutes of work.

Ohio begins the Mid-American Conference portion of its 2016-17 schedule next Tuesday (Jan. 3) by playing host to West Division foe Western Michigan (4-8) in a 7 p.m. ET matchup at the Convocation Center. The conference opener will be broadcast on ESPN3 and streamed live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app.

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