Sports
Ohio Men’s Basketball Wins Game Two of Paradise Jam
< < Back toAfter blowing a big second half lead in Friday’s loss, the Bobcats flirted with giving up another double-digit lead on Saturday. But this time around, the Bobcat minimized mistakes to come away with a 93-71 win over Norfolk State at the 2015 Paradise Jam.
The Bobcats held a 47-27 lead at the start of the second half, but in the first nine minutes, Norfolk State cut that to just a five-point lead at 57-52. Shots started falling for the Spartans, as they went 10 for 14 in that run, and cut Ohio’s lead to its smallest since the score was 24-21 in the first.
A 3-pointer from senior forward Treg Setty and four points from freshman guard Gavin Block helped the ‘Cats get their lead back to double digits at 64-52. Block led the way in scoring for Ohio with 19 points, and Setty added another 16.
After bringing it within five at 11:00, the Spartans went cold and shot 5 of 17 for the remainder of the game.
In a blowout win, Bobcat players recorded plenty of impressive box score lines.
Point guard Jaaron Simmons might have had a cold shooting day, going 1 of 7 from the field, but he scored mostly from the stripe, where he hit all nine of his free throws to score 11. He did the most damage, however, with his passes. He recorded 13 assists, 10 of which helped Ohio get out to a 20-point lead at halftime.
The Bobcats held just a 22-21 lead at 7:59 in the first half, but it was then that Ohio pulled away for the first time. Eight of Simmons’s 10 first half assists came after that point, and the ‘Cats closed the half on a 25-6 run.
Along with Setty’s and Block’s solid scoring, and Simmons’s double-double, junior forward Antonio Campbell posted a double-double of his own with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bobcats got it done with great shooting, especially from behind the arc. Ohio shot 53.8 percent on its threes. The ‘Cats almost took as many shots from outside of the arc as inside it, as 26 of their 55 shots were from three-point land.
Next on the slate for Ohio is a Monday matchup with the winner of Saturday night’s game between Florida State and DePaul. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.