Sports
Ohio’s Hot Shooting Downs WMU in MAC Opener
By: Megan Stamper
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After a slow start against Urbana last Friday, the Ohio Bobcats (9-3, 1-0 MAC) bounced back with a hot first half and the win, 89-58, over the Western Michigan Broncos (4-9, 0-1 MAC) on Tuesday.
In their first game of Mid-American Conference play, Ohio came out and went 3-for-3 from behind the arc to take a 9-2 lead over the Broncos that they never looked back from.
Twenty-seven of the Bobcats’ 46 points in the first half came from the 3-point line. Senior forward Kenny Kaminski and sophomore guard Jordan Dartis each had three 3-pointers in the first half. Dartis led all scorers in the first half with 12 points and finished with 12 points, one rebound, and one assist.
With 10:30 left in the game, Ohio had only made two of their past eight field goals, until senior forward Antonio Campbell made two 3-pointers in a row to extend the Bobcat lead to 23. After not playing in Ohio’s last game against Urbana, Campbell made his return Tuesday and looked like his usual self. He averages a double-double, and that is exactly what he had with 22 points with 12 rebounds. Sixteen of Campbell’s 22 points came in the second half.
Tucker Haymond and Thomas Wilder led the way for the Broncos, each scoring nine points. Haymond finished with eight rebounds while Wilder had 10.
Although Haymond led the way offensively for the Broncos, he did not help them in the turnover category. He led the team with five turnovers, and Western Michigan had a total of 17 in the game.
In the first half, the Broncos turned the ball over seven times before the Bobcats had their first turnover. Ohio took advantage of the Western Michigan turnovers to score 18 points in the game off of those mistakes.
Western Michigan never held a lead in the game, and part of the reason why was Ohio’s hot 3-point shooting. Ohio began the game with three straight 3-point field goals and finished shooting 52 percent from behind the arc, going 16-31. Leading the way behind the arc was Campbell, who had 18 points from the 3-point line.
Next up for Ohio, they host MAC East division foe Kent State Friday night. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m.