Ohio bets Buffalo on the road behind Antonio Campbell and Jordan Dartis.
Ohio’s shooting against Buffalo Friday was almost dizzying.
First it was Antonio Campbell — continuing his dominance inside the Mid-American Conference — with 28 points and 15 rebounds on 70 percent shooting from the field. It was Campbell's 12th double-double this season.
Then, Jordan Dartis started bullying the Bulls from outside.
At one point, Dartis caught passes from guard Jaaron Simmons on the left wing before letting multiple 3-pointers fly off his finger tips. He made seven of his 10 attempts.
Dartis scored a career-high 23 points during Ohio’s 94-75 win against Buffalo, as the Bobcats (16-8, 7-5 MAC) scored 42 points off of 3-pointers on Friday. Dartis’ seven 3-pointers were also a career-high.
“Usually when I play 27 minutes, I’m in foul trouble,” Campbell said on Ohio Athletics’ broadcast interview. “And that messes with my head a little bit. … It just felt pretty good. I played good against Ball State and I think it carried over into practice and carried onto the game court.”
The postgame interview for Campbell and coach Saul Phillips was cut short because of technical difficulties.
Of course, Campbell and Dartis had help.
Doug Taylor had six points and four rebounds when Campbell rested on the bench, even making a shot outside the arc — a rarity for Taylor. Taylor isn’t known for his 3-point shooting but his rigid work inside the paint pummeled the Bulls.
Simmons added 13 points and Treg Setty added 10 points. Ohio finished with 54 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded Buffalo, 41-31.
Overall, it was the Bobcats’ best performance all season, as they smothered the Bulls (14-11, 7-5 MAC) by 20-plus points majority through the second half.
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The Bobcats came into the matchup fighting a stomach bug that has affected the local Athens community, including Campbell. Regardless, Ohio was up by 29 at the nine minute mark in the second half.
Ohio has now won five of its previous six games.
It was a matchup that the Bobcats almost dominated from the opening tip thanks to Campbell and Dartis.
Buffalo only lead 3-2 in the first minute of the game, before Ohio’s eight different scorers gave them its seventh win in the MAC.
Ohio hasn’t scored 100 points against a MAC opponent since they went against Central Michigan in 1998 when it scored 122 points.
Next, Ohio will travel home to face Eastern Michigan on Feb. 16. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
@Lukeoroark
Lr514812@ohio.edu
