Ohio defeats Tennessee State thanks to strong performances from freshmen Jordan Dartis and Gavin Block.
With 1:23 left in the second half, freshman Jordan Dartis squared up at the top of the key and let the ball fly.
He turned his back to the swish of the net and held up three fingers in the air as he watched the Bobcat-faithful jump to its feet praising him, a sight that was all too new to the player from Newark, Ohio.
“They just have such an assassin mentality," Ohio coach, Saul Phillips, said of his two freshmen Dartis and Gavin Block, who went 7 of 13 from 3-point range Monday to beat Tennessee State 75-67.
“The moment doesn’t seem too big for either one of those guys and it never has, and they’ve been in some pretty big moments — bigger than most high school kids,” Phillips said.
Dartis and Block contributed 17 and 12 points respectively as the Bobcats started their season 2-0 for the first time since 2012 with the win at The Convo.
Down 58-48 in the second half, Dartis and Block made two key plays to spark a 14-1 run and keep Ohio's offense afloat on a night some of Ohio's veterans struggled.
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Dartis finished off a steal by giving the ball up to forward Antonio Campbell for an easy lay-in and in Block's case, he sacrificed his lanky, 6'6, 195-pound frame to draw a charge.
“I might just put an X over his name on the back of his jersey and write 'charge' some night,” Phillips said about Block’s affinity to put his body on the line. “He’s got the choir boy looks, but he’s got the guts of a cat burglar. He’s got a little mean in him.”
Following a layup by Jaaron Simmons and a couple free throws from Treg Setty, Dartis hit the shot at the 1:23 mark to put the Tigers away and send The Convo into utter ecstasy.
“I think I can shoot the three ball pretty well,” Dartis said. “I shot it pretty well in high school. When I finally saw one go in today I started playing with more confidence and then more just kept going in for me.”
After the Tigers got off to a 14-0 start, with the help of Johnny Woodard’s three quick treys, Dartis was subbed in for the Bobcats at the 14:52 mark in the first half.
He proceeded to hit three-straight deep 3-pointers of his own to keep Ohio in the game early, three of his five long balls on the day.
With around five minutes left in the first half and the Bobcats trailing, it was then Block’s turn to show he too could help the Bobcats dig out of a hole.
After corralling a rebound on the defensive end, Block went coast-to-coast and finished with an acrobatic, scoop layup under the basket.
On the next two possessions, Block connected on a 3-pointer and then helped on the block, stripping Tiger forward Wayne Martin in the paint to swing the momentum Ohio’s way.
In all, it was a night the two freshmen will never forget.
“Living the dream right now,” Block said on sharing the center of attention against Tennessee State with Dartis and knowing they’ll be off to the Virgin Islands to play in a few days.
Dartis was quick to reply.
“Loving it,” he said.
nk596613@ohio.edu
@NKairys
