As the game progressed, coach Saul Phillips’ footsteps down the sideline grew slightly softer and composed.
Ohio started off rusty, but finished efficiently in a 77-67 season-opening win over Southern on Saturday afternoon in The Convo.
The Bobcats struggled from the start. The problems started within the first 87 seconds, when Antonio Campbell picked up his second personal foul. Concerns continued inside the first 10 minutes when both Campbell and Jaaron Simmons were scoreless.
Ultimately, it was a put-back dunk from freshman Rodney Culver with 1:09 left in the first half that gave Ohio a 40-38 lead, and a burst of energy.
“Rodney brought some juice to the building tonight,” Phillips said. “That’s for sure.”
From there, Ohio resembled a team similar to the preseason accolades it received — a potential Top 25 team. Even if Simmons and Campbell struggled early — although they ultimately combined for 25 points — depth from the remainder of the roster preserved the win.
In many ways, Culver was the face of the perseverance.
Other than the dunk, nothing from Culver was flashy. Phillips said his backup shooting guard wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t have to be,
“He’s writing in pencil, not pen,” Phillips said.
Much of Ohio’s upcoming season rests on the play of Simmons and Campbell. Both were named First Team All-Mid-American Conference. The latter is the reigning conference player of the year.
But when both struggled, Culver and company shined. He finished with nine points and power forward Kenny Kaminski, who went 0-of-9 in last Saturday’s exhibition against Rio Grande, finished with 14 points, including 4-of-8 on 3-point field goals.
“Depth came through for us today,” Kaminski said.
As did the defense.
Allowing 38 points in the first half is hardly an indication of the work the team put in the offseason, but it showed in the second half.
At one point in the second half, the Bobcats forced the Jaguars to settle for just nine points on 17 possessions. Meanwhile, Ohio continued to score.
Jordan Dartis, the starting shooting guard who doubles as Simmons’ backup at the point, had a team-high 15 points.
“Jordan Dartis gets a little sick of people say we only have one point guard on this team,” Phillips said.
Ohio’s depth, which Kaminsky believes is one of the deepest benches in the country, wasn’t fully tested Saturday, but will be moving forward.
"I think we're one of the deepest teams in the country ... There's something about this team that is just different," he said.
Phillips kept his starters in for the majority of the game, simply because the score was close enough to do so.
Yet by Monday, when Ohio plays Sam Houston State, the quick turnaround after months without official games could lead to Phillips, a third-year coach, calling on Culver and others with more frequency.
“Wasn’t pretty but it’s the first (win) and my favorite of the year,” Phillips said.
