Jordan Dartis cocked his head back and threw up his right hand in the air with three fingers prominently, proudly displaying for all of the fans in The Convo to see.
The redshirt senior pulled up from between the 3-point-line and half court, watching the ball swish into the net.
Ohio’s 3-point leader, now with 305 made in his career, put on a vintage performance. It was a game where if there was even just a fraction of space, he caught the ball and shot it with no hesitation. It didn’t matter the difference, nor the defender with a hand in his face in a last-second effort to close in on him.
When Dartis gets the space, he more often than not makes the basket.
His 27-point performance headlined the Bobcats’ 77-69 win Tuesday night over Central Michigan.
“After a big shot like that, it’s more like ‘OK, let’s get a stop. Let’s seal the deal,’” Dartis said. “When you make 3s like that, they just feel really good. I just like when the crowd gets into it like that.”
His night got off to a strong start after he opened the game 2-for-2 and established an early rhythm. The Chippewas’ 3-2 zone defense gave the Bobcats fits in the first half, and it showed. They forced nine turnovers, uncomfortable shots and plenty of bad looks, but in the second half, Dartis took over.
In the span of one minute and 24 seconds, the Newark native made three 3-pointers, and the last one put Ohio within one point of tying the game with 14:21 left.
His 3-point shooting garnered the attention of that zone to swing into his direction, but simple swing passes around the perimeter and off-ball screens opened the floor for him.
“We ran some plays for him, and he hit some big 3s,” coach Jeff Boals said. “People have to game plan for him, number one. Two, they’ve got to pay attention to him, and when he’s shooting 3s like that, it opens driving lanes, post feeds.”
It’s been a commonality for Dartis to have hot shooting nights against teams that offer a zone defense rather than a man-to-man scheme. Against the 2-3 zone that Eastern Michigan runs, he had eight 3-pointers. To Boals’ credit, Dartis’ 3-point shooting ability did open up the inside game for the Bobcats.
Ben Vander Plas, Jason Preston and Sylvester Ogbonda all found ways to reach the hoop stemming from Dartis’ game.
Not only did it give Ohio the energy it needed offensively, but it allowed them to take control of the game and force the Chippewas to play its style.
While the Bobcats eventually took control of the game, the first half presented itself with its challenges. The aforementioned turnovers and passive play resulted in just 27 points at half time – 12 of which belonged to Dartis. The Bobcats shot under 40% both from the field and from beyond-the-arc as a result of the indecision and pass-first, shoot-second mentality.
The shift from the first half to the second came as a result from Boals’ adjustments and his calm demeanor in the locker room.
He opted to swap out the small ball lineup in favor for his starting five, and it paid off.
Ogbonda’s defensive presence on the court in the second half limited the Chippewas’ opportunities, particularly in the paint as the 6 feet, 10 inch center guarded a 6 feet, 5 inch guard.
His 20 minutes ended sooner than expected because he fouled out, but he did so after an important defensive stop where he forced a shot clock violation and gave Ohio another possession.
More importantly, he gave Ohio another opportunity.
“I just wanted to play defense, play tough,” Ogbonda said. “I was just fortunate to get the block.”
Of those opportunities he gave, Dartis took and shot his “dagger” 3-pointer.
Dartis made note that he doesn’t have much time left. He has a guaranteed five regular season games left and at least one game in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in the beginning of March to keep hoisting his hand in the air and nodding his head.
“I finally beat everybody in the MAC, so that’s a cool accomplishment,” he said. “The main focus is onto the next one.”
The “next one” soon enough will be just one. But for now, Dartis will keep shooting and celebrating.
