Jaaron Simmons led Ohio with 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Ohio coach Saul Phillips has repeatedly made the same one-liner throughout Ohio’s 2015 campaign: “We’re not world-beaters on defense.”
The irony Thursday night, other than The Convo playing the “Imperial March” theme from Star Wars when announcing Jackson State’s starters, however was Ohio’s reliance on its defense — not its usually potent offense — to beat Jackson State, 72-67.
Ohio’s Jaaron Simmons flirted with a triple-double by garnering 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and junior forward Antonio Campbell recorded his third-consecutive double-double (13 points and 11 rebounds), a similar sight for fans keeping up with the Bobcats’ statistics.
Yet the Bobcats’ win over the Tigers was “weird” according to Campbell.
“I don't even know how to explain it,” Campbell said. "Started off, they got 20 offensive rebounds. The way the game started off, it just felt weird. Even when they didn't get the offensive rebounds, guys, we're tipping it around and we were dropping the ball when we did get it, kicking it and smacking it around. It was crazy."
Adding to Campbell’s testament, Ohio (7-3) indeed won in a way it hasn’t before this season: ugly and with defense.
The Tigers (4-8) shot a mere 36 percent from the field, committing 28 fouls in 40 minutes and causing the Bobcats to slow down by attempting 38 free throws.
The Tigers’ 3-2/1-2-2 zone defense mostly distributed the Bobcats’ offensive flow by forcing Simmons and company to shoot midrange shots deep into the shot clock.
The 72-point outing was the lowest scoring outing in a win this season for Ohio.
"The game was a little bit more physical at times, but the refs seemed to calm it down at other times, so you really couldn't get a feel of how we wanted to play defense," Simmons said.
Within the defensive stalemate, echoes of “move!” were heard inside The Convo, as the Bobcats and Tigers played scrappy for a full 40 minutes. Five Tiger players committed at least four fouls, with Yettra Specks fouling out, and Jackson State stayed resilient despite trailing Ohio by 13 with a little less than two minutes to go in regulation.
The Bobcats, who frequently spend a portion of practices shooting free throws, eventually edged out the Tigers by shooting 27-38 from the charity stripe, a season high in attempts.
“We had a lot of leaks springing in the dam there," Phillips said. "We got them plugged up with toes and fingers and anything we could find."
After two games in three days and a three-game win streak, Phillips said he will take his team bowling on Friday to get his players away from the court.
After all, it’s probably a good idea for the Bobcats to recover from their “weird” defensive battle Thursday night.
“In honor of Frank Solich, we're going bowling (Friday),” Phillips said. "But we need to get away from (basketball), just for one day."
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