ATLANTA -- Senior forward Antonio Campbell posted his first double-double of the 2016-17 with a season-high 25 points and 12 rebounds to help the Ohio Bobcats (3-0) sting Georgia Tech (2-1), 67-61, on Friday at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.
With the victory, the Bobcats start a season 3-0 for the first time under third-year head coach Saul Phillips and for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.
Ohio picked up its first victory in . . .
With the victory, the Bobcats start a season 3-0 for the first time under third-year head coach Saul Phillips and for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.
Ohio picked up its first victory in . . .
. . . an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent's gym since Dec. 12, 2007 -- a 61-55 Ohio victory over then-ACC member Maryland in College Park, Md.
Campbell, who shot 10-of-17 from the floor and made three treys, also blocked a season-high three shots in 31 minutes. He recorded his 27th career double-double after finishing in double figures in points for the third time this year and 52nd time in his career and in double figures in rebounds for the first time this season and 32nd time in his career. His 25-point performance marked his 15th career game with at least 20 points and second in a row.
Campbell, who shot 10-of-17 from the floor and made three treys, also blocked a season-high three shots in 31 minutes. He recorded his 27th career double-double after finishing in double figures in points for the third time this year and 52nd time in his career and in double figures in rebounds for the first time this season and 32nd time in his career. His 25-point performance marked his 15th career game with at least 20 points and second in a row.
Redshirt junior guard Jaaron Simmons scored a season-high 17 points and nearly finished with a double-double with a game-high nine assists to match his season high. He also collected a seal and a rebound in 38 minutes of work. Simmons has led the Bobcats in assists in 36 of his 38 career games with Ohio.
Redshirt senior forward Kenny Kaminski drained five second-half three-pointers to finish with 15 points. He has knocked down at least five treys in all three games this year and has achieved the feat on 10 occasions in his Bobcat career.
Campbell, Simmons and Kaminski combined to score 57 of Ohio's 67 points.
"We've got a really veteran team, a junior point guard that's really good and a senior center that there's a reason NBA teams are coming to watch him, and I think you've got a bunch of guys on the other side that are just getting to know each other," said Phillips.
"If you play this game in another two months, it might have a different outcome. But, I thought it really came down to (the fact that) we got stops down the stretch when we needed them, and I thought we did a reasonably good job of closing out the game on the offensive end."
Ohio's defense limited Georgia Tech to just 33.3 percent (22-of-66) shooting from the field -- including 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from beyond the arc.
Junior center Ben Lammers led the Yellow Jackets with 22 points, tied for the team lead with 11 rebounds and swatted a game-high four blocks in 38 minutes.
Junior guard Tadric Jackson provided the Yellow Jackets with 17 points in 27 minutes off of the bench, with three of his six makes from the field coming from beyond the arc.
Freshman guard Josh Okogie hauled in 11 boards to tie for the team lead for Georgia Tech. He also had five points and three blocks in 30 minutes.
The Yellow Jackets took their largest lead of the game when a three by Jackson gave Georgia Tech a 30-23 lead with 2:25 to play in the first half.
Kaminksi, who went 0-for-3 from the field in the first half, hit five treys in the first nine minutes of the second half -- including back-to-back triples that gave the Bobcats a 49-46 edge. Lammers hit a pair of free throws to cut Ohio's lead to one, but Campbell knocked down a three to make it a four-point lead for the Bobcats with just under 10 minutes to go.
A layup by freshman guard Justin Moore and a jumper by Jackson allowed Georgia Tech to even the score at 52-all with just over eight minutes left. The game turned in favor of Ohio, though, when sophomore forward Doug Taylor blocked a shot by Moore, then sophomore guard/forward Gavin Block (Lincoln, Ill.) converted an and-one opportunity on the other end of the floor to give Ohio a 55-52 lead with just over six minutes remaining.
A dunk by Lammers cut Ohio's lead down to three at 57-54 with just under five minutes to play, but the Bobcats outscored the Yellow Jackets a 10-7 count over the final four-plus minutes, with a dunk by Campbell off an assist by Simmons with seven seconds left capping off the Ohio victory.
"We've been through a lot of these before and our guys have a lot of confidence in themselves," said Phillips. "There's no question that one of the biggest narratives in this game is that we've got guys that have played a lot together and played a lot of college basketball games."
Ohio returns to the Convocation Center next Friday (Nov. 25) to face off against Tennessee Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
(Courtesy of Ohio Athletics)
Redshirt senior forward Kenny Kaminski drained five second-half three-pointers to finish with 15 points. He has knocked down at least five treys in all three games this year and has achieved the feat on 10 occasions in his Bobcat career.
Campbell, Simmons and Kaminski combined to score 57 of Ohio's 67 points.
"We've got a really veteran team, a junior point guard that's really good and a senior center that there's a reason NBA teams are coming to watch him, and I think you've got a bunch of guys on the other side that are just getting to know each other," said Phillips.
"If you play this game in another two months, it might have a different outcome. But, I thought it really came down to (the fact that) we got stops down the stretch when we needed them, and I thought we did a reasonably good job of closing out the game on the offensive end."
Ohio's defense limited Georgia Tech to just 33.3 percent (22-of-66) shooting from the field -- including 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from beyond the arc.
Junior center Ben Lammers led the Yellow Jackets with 22 points, tied for the team lead with 11 rebounds and swatted a game-high four blocks in 38 minutes.
Junior guard Tadric Jackson provided the Yellow Jackets with 17 points in 27 minutes off of the bench, with three of his six makes from the field coming from beyond the arc.
Freshman guard Josh Okogie hauled in 11 boards to tie for the team lead for Georgia Tech. He also had five points and three blocks in 30 minutes.
The Yellow Jackets took their largest lead of the game when a three by Jackson gave Georgia Tech a 30-23 lead with 2:25 to play in the first half.
Kaminksi, who went 0-for-3 from the field in the first half, hit five treys in the first nine minutes of the second half -- including back-to-back triples that gave the Bobcats a 49-46 edge. Lammers hit a pair of free throws to cut Ohio's lead to one, but Campbell knocked down a three to make it a four-point lead for the Bobcats with just under 10 minutes to go.
A layup by freshman guard Justin Moore and a jumper by Jackson allowed Georgia Tech to even the score at 52-all with just over eight minutes left. The game turned in favor of Ohio, though, when sophomore forward Doug Taylor blocked a shot by Moore, then sophomore guard/forward Gavin Block (Lincoln, Ill.) converted an and-one opportunity on the other end of the floor to give Ohio a 55-52 lead with just over six minutes remaining.
A dunk by Lammers cut Ohio's lead down to three at 57-54 with just under five minutes to play, but the Bobcats outscored the Yellow Jackets a 10-7 count over the final four-plus minutes, with a dunk by Campbell off an assist by Simmons with seven seconds left capping off the Ohio victory.
"We've been through a lot of these before and our guys have a lot of confidence in themselves," said Phillips. "There's no question that one of the biggest narratives in this game is that we've got guys that have played a lot together and played a lot of college basketball games."
Ohio returns to the Convocation Center next Friday (Nov. 25) to face off against Tennessee Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
(Courtesy of Ohio Athletics)
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