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THE BASICS
Score: Ohio 80, Northern Illinois 69
Location: Convocation Center -- Athens, Ohio
The Short Story: Redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) recorded his fifth double-double with a game-high 24 points and 12 assists as the Ohio men's basketball team (14-8, 5-5 MAC) fought off Mid-American Conference West Division foe Northern Illinois (16-7, 5-5 MAC) to earn an 80-69 win on Saturday (Feb. 6) at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.

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

NORTHERN ILLINOIS STARTERS: #5 Travon Baker, #15 Jaylen Key, #23 Aaric Armstead, #24 Michael Orris, #34 Marin Maric



HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Bobcats shot 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from the field while going 9-of-22 (40.9 percent) from behind the arc. Ohio held Northern Illinois to 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field -- including 13.3 percent (2-of-15) from three-point range. The Huskies edged Ohio in the statistical battle with advantages in rebounds (37-24), bench points (29-7), second chance points (10-2) and points in the paint (36-30).
• Simmons went 7-of-10 from the field -- including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He also posted two rebounds and one steal in 38 minutes.
• Freshman guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) recorded 17 points off of 6-of-9 shooting from the field - including 4-of-7 from three-point land. He also snatched two rebounds in 39 minutes.
• Redshirt senior forward Treg Setty (Maysville, Ky.) finished with 12 points courtesy of a 5-of-11 effort from the field -- including 1-for-3 from deep. He also notched five rebounds, two assists, and a block in 33 minutes.
• Junior forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while compiling two steals in 28 minutes.
• Redshirt junior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio) tallied nine points off of 4-of-9 shooting and tallied two rebounds, a game-high two blocks and two steals.
• The Huskies were led by 15-point performances by junior guard Aaric Armstead and freshman wing Levi Bradley. Armstead finished with a double-double with a game-high 10 boards in addition to totaling one steal in 36 minutes. He shot 5-of-10 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Bradley went 5-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line in addition to hauling in four boards in 14 minutes of work off of the bench.
• Redshirt sophomore center Marin Maric recorded a double-double with 11 points to go along with 10 rebounds, a block and a steal in 29 minutes for Northern Illinois.
• Senior guard Travon Baker put in 10 points while recording a team-high five assists and grabbing three rebounds in 32 minutes for the Huskies.
• Kaminski scored the first Ohio points to give the Bobcats the first lead of the game at 2-0 with 19:07 remaining in the first half. Campbell fed the ball down low to Kaminski who took two dribbles and scored over his defender with a right-handed hook shot.
• The Bobcats locked up the Huskies early on as Northern Illinois only converted once on its first seven attempts. Six Ohio players accounted for the first 16 Bobcat points as they led 16-11 with 11:50 to play in the first half.
• Ohio found early success in the paint as 14 of the first 23 points came from down low. On the other end, the Bobcats denied the Huskies of any point-blank shots as they were just 5-of-20 from the field with only two points in the paint with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
• Simmons got everyone involved as he had seven assists in the first 15 minutes of the game. His favorite target was Dartis who scored from all over the floor in the opening half. 
• Simmons did some scoring of his own in the first half as he had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field -- including converting on both of his three point attempts.
• Ohio's 49 first half points was the third-highest scoring half the Bobcats have had this season. Ohio finished the half shooting 60.6 percent from the field (20-of-33) including 53.8 percent from beyond the arc (7-of-13). Dartis, Setty and Simmons all scored in double figures in the first half with 14, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
• A 12-0 run from Northern Illinois brought the game within single digits as Ohio's lead shrunk to 51-45 with 15:27 remaining in the game. Campbell ended the run when he put home a layup to extend the lead to seven with 14:57 to go.
• The Huskies finally took the lead at 60-59 with 9:25 remaining as Bradley banked home a layup. Bradley then converted a conventional three-point play, and redshirt junior Michael Orris made a layup with 6:26 left to give Northern Illinois a 65-61 advantage to cap a 32-12 run for the Huskies.
• Kaminski made it a one-point game with just under five minutes to go when he knocked down a jumper. Simmons gave Ohio the lead back when he hit a pair of free throws and then a three from the left wing, giving the Bobcats a 69-67 lead with 3:24 remaining. After Kaminski redirected a Huskie layup opportunity, Simmons led the break down the floor, finding a wide open Dartis, who drilled the three pointer from the right wing to give Ohio a 72-67 lead with 2:54 remaining in the game.
• Clutch shooting from the field as well as the charity stripe helped the 'Cats salt the game away late. Ohio connected on its last five shots from the field while holding the Huskies to just 1-of-7 in the final minutes to hang on for the win.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• The Bobcats have won three of their last four games.
• Ohio is now 11-2 (.846) at the friendly confines of the Convo this season. The 'Cats are now 456-144 (.760) all-time in games played at the Convocation Center.
• The Bobcats improved to 32-18 (.640) all-time against Northern Illinois ending a two-game losing streak against the Huskies. Ohio earned its first victory over the Huskies since a 65-46 triumph over Northern Illinois on Jan. 18, 2014, in DeKalb, Ill.
• Ohio has scored at least 80 points 11 times this year.
• Simmons scored at least 20 points for the sixth time this year, finished in double figures in scoring for the 16th time this season and led the team in scoring for the seventh time this year. He posted double-digit assists for the fourth time this year and led the team in assists for a team-high 22nd time. Simmons has recorded at least five assists in all but two games this year. His 176 assists in 2015-16 put him in a tie with Paul Baron (1985-86) for the eighth-most in a single season in program history.  
• Dartis finished in double figures in scoring for the eighth time this year.
• Setty tallied double digits in points for the 12th time this season.
• Campbell reached double figures in scoring for the 19th time this year and ninth game in a row. He led the team in rebounding for a team-high 17th time this season.

QUOTABLE
Second-year head coach Saul Phillips on redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons
"The other night I wrote in my thankfulness journal that I was thankful for Jaaron Simmons, Jaaron Simmons' court vision, Jaaron Simmons' toughness. Recently, I went through a whole list of things that I love about Jaaron. Great programs have great point guards. We have a great point guard I'd pay to watch him play. I don't have to; actually, they pay me to watch him play. It's a heck of a deal. He is the quintessential leader. If you're in a tough spot, you want Jaaron on your side."

Redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons on the final five minutes of the game. 
"I didn't want to lose, so I did whatever I had to do whether that was dropping it off to a teammate or getting a bucket or get to the line. That was my mindset. I had to do it."

Freshman guard Jordan Dartis on playing alongside redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons
"It makes the game a lot easier when someone can score at will or get in the paint. It made the game a lot easier for not just me, but the whole team because he sets everyone up. He's a great point guard."

UP NEXT
Ohio visits a MAC West Division foe for the final time in 2016, traveling to Muncie, Ind., to battle Ball State next Tuesday (Feb. 9) in a 7 p.m. ET matchup at Worthen Arena. The Bobcats took down the Cardinals at the Convo, 79-73, on Jan. 9 in the first matchup of the season between the two squads. Ball State (15-8, 6-4 MAC) enters Tuesay's game having won two in a row -- including a 75-71 overtime win over Western Michigan on Saturday in Muncie.

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