Ohio bested Eastern Michigan after Antonio Campbell's dominant performance.
If you play in the Mid-American Conference and don't know the name Antonio Campbell, you may live under a rock.
Campbell dominated Eastern Michigan early and often Tuesday, notching 33 points and 11 rebounds in Ohio’s 86-64 win. Twenty-four points and seven of Campbell's rebounds came in the first half.
Ohio (17-8, 8-5 MAC) has won four straight and six of its previous seven games.
“That was a performance tonight (fans) will be talking about in The Convo for a long time,” Ohio coach Saul Phillips said. “It was really good.”
Campbell continued his recent tear through the MAC inside The Convo on Tuesday night, frustrating another highly regarded forward along the way: the Eagles’ James Thompson IV.
Thompson fouled out in the second half after receiving his second technical for slapping the ground in frustration during a failed rebound attempt. He was called for a technical foul earlier when he and Ohio’s Gavin Block got tangled up on a rebound and began shoving.
Thompson finished with 11 points and five rebounds — his lowest outing in eight games.
“It’s hard to guard five players on the floor that can shoot threes,” Jordan Dartis, freshman guard, said. “We’re just playing with a swagger.”
Campbell’s career performance could’ve been a direct correlation to Thompson’s aggravations. Campbell and the Bobcats bested the Eagles’ 3-2 zone defense, utilizing patience and swing passes around the perimeter to gain an early advantage. The Bobcats only trailed for 24 seconds.
“I’ve been on a pretty good role myself, but we’ve won six of past seven, we’ve shown we can win on the road which is huge in this conference,” Campbell said. “I think the confidence level for everyone on the team is just high.”
Eastern Michigan coach Rob Murphy called Campbell “one of the top-two forwards in the league.”
Murphy said game planning for Campbell is difficult because of his ability to shoot from a variety of spots on the floor. That aspect showed Tuesday. Campbell made 14 of his 20 shots against Eastern Michigan (13-13, 5-8 MAC).
“He’s a really good rebounder on both ends of the floor, so he’s a tough cover,” Murphy said.
Tuesday night also further cemented Ohio’s legitimacy as a MAC Tournament contender.
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Even without one of its regular starters, Kenny Kaminski, who was out because of a head injury, Campbell and company seemingly handled the Eagles with their depth. Ohio had nine different scorers, three (Campbell, Dartis and Treg Setty) of which that scored 16 or more points.
Block started his first career game in place of Kaminski, finishing with five points and nine assists. Dartis finished with 18 points. Setty finished with 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting.
"What I'm most heartened by is that in our last two games we were able to cause separation (within the MAC) and keep it," Phillips said.
@Lukeoroark
Lr514812@ohio.edu
