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ATHENS, Ohio -- A near triple-double performance from redshirt junior guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) could not save the Ohio men's basketball team (14-8, 6-5 MAC) from a 97-87 loss to Mid-American Conference West Division foe Central Michigan (16-8, 6-5 MAC) on Tuesday (Feb. 7) at the Convocation Center.

The Chippewas shot 50.7 percent (34-of-67) from the field -- including 45.7 percent (16-of-35 from three-point range to top the Bobcats, who shot 40.0 percent (26-of-65) from the floor -- including 43.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Central Michigan's guard combo of junior Marcus Keene and senior Braylon Rayson did the bulk of the damage for the Chippewas, accounting for 62 of the Chippewas' 97 points. Keene, who entered the night as the nation's leading scorer, shot 15-of-25 from the field -- including 9-of-16 from three -- en route to a game-high 41 points. Rayson went 7-of-14 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe to finish with 21 points. Keene also recorded five rebounds and three assists over 39 minutes while Rayson chipped in a team-high four assists, three rebounds and a steal in 32 minutes of work.

"You want to force tough ones," said third-year head coach Saul Phillips of Central Michigan's hot shooting. "I thought we didn't always have a hand up before they started their shot. They're such quick triggers if you're trying like a shootout at the O.K. Corral, if your guns don't get up as quick as the other guys, you better have yours drawn before he draws his. I thought there was more than one occasion when that didn't happen for us."



The performance by Central Michigan's dynamic duo offset a night in which four Bobcats finished in double figures, with Simmons leading the way with 30 points. He also distributed a game-high nine assists, hauled in a team-high nine boards and a collected a steal while going the full 40 minutes. Simmons shot 10-of-19 from the field -- including 4-of-7 three-point range -- and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. He put together his second-straight outing with at least 30 points.

"Doesn't matter. Stats don’t matter," said Simmons. "We lost. That's what matters."

Sophomore guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) drilled five treys and sank six free throws to total 21 points, marking his third game of the season with at least 20 points. He also compiled four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 39 minutes.

Sophomore guard/forward Gavin Block (Lincoln, Ill.) went 7-of-8 from the free throw line and finished with 15 points. He also added six rebounds, an assist and a two steals in 34 minutes of work.

Redshirt senior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio) finished with 14 points, three rebounds and an assist over 36 minutes.



Ohio led by six at 20-14 with 12:44 to play in the first half thanks to a pair of three-pointers by both Kaminski and Block and treys by Simmons and Dartis, but a jumper by Keene, a triple by senior forward Blake Hibbitts, and a dunk by Williams gave the Chippewas a 21-20 edge with just over 11 minutes remaining in the half -- a lead Central Michigan never relinquished.

The Chippewas led by a half-high 14 after freshman forward David DiLeo sank a three with 7:21 left and led by 10 with 2:31 left on the clock after Keene knocked down a triple. A pair of free throws by Dartis, a trey by Simmons and a jumper by Simmons sent the Bobcats into halftime down by just five at 54-49, however.

The Bobcats made it a three-point game four times over the first 12-plus minutes of the second half, with a jumper by Simmons shaving Central Michigan's edge down to 78-75 with just over eight minutes to play. The Chippewas outscored the Bobcats by a 19-12 count in the final 6:31, though, and led by a game-high 16 with 3:55 to play after Keene drilled his ninth and final three-pointer to cap a 15-2 run by Central Michigan in which he accounted for 13 points.

Central Michigan held the advantage in points in the paint (34-14), second-chance points (13-9) and bench points (19-5). Junior forward Cecil Williams pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds in addition to logging three points in 16 minutes. Junior forward DaRohn Scott scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds in 18 minutes off of the bench while junior forward Luke Meyer tallied seven points, three rebounds and an assist over 20 minutes.

Ohio opens a two-game MAC West road trip on Friday (Feb. 10), making the trip to Muncie, Ind., to battle Ball State (15-9, 6-5 MAC) in a nationally televised matchup on CBS Sports Network. The contest is scheduled to tip-off at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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