Rio Grande @ Ohio: 5 Things We Learned

Ohio kicked off their 2016-17 campaign with an exhibition against Rio Grande. It was a struggle at times in the first half, but the Bobcats eventually came away with a 87-56 victory.

Antonio Campbell is still really good

Saul Phillips must have been counting his blessings that Campbell decided to pull out of the NBA Draft. The returning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year was far and away the best player on the court Saturday afternoon, finishing with a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds). His defense also opened eyes, showing the ability to run up and down the court, not just guard in the post.

Scoring droughts were aplenty

For Ohio in the first half, points seemed to be hard to come by. At one point, they went four minutes without a score. To finish off the first half, the Bobcats went two of seven from the floor. The reason they didn’t relinquish their lead? Rio Grande was worse. The Red Storm shot under 30% in the first half and looked sloppy on offense throughout the game.

Jason Carter can make a difference

The freshman forward was a pleasant surprise for the Bobcats on Saturday afternoon. His first three attempts were all makes, including one from the three point line. Carter finished with 15 points, going 4-5 from the field. Carter and sophomore Gavin Block formed a formidable duo that could be dangerous for Ohio this season.

Kenny Kaminski had a slow start to the season

Kaminski was in the starting five for Ohio, but that was probably the highlight of the game for the redshirt senior. He finished the game with just two points and was scoreless from the field. Of course, Kaminski will not likely not be pulled from the starting five for next weekend’s match-up against Southern, but Phillips will need to see improvement from the redshirt seniors.

Ohio will find a way to win games

This wasn’t their prettiest game by any stretch of the imagination, but the Bobcats won –– and they did so handedly. The Bobcats will struggled at points in the season, like they did Friday in the first half, but they’ll learn to correct it. Ohio went from shooting just above 30% in the first half to 50% in the second. They might fall into slumps at points, but their ability to fix their mistakes will show if they’ll truly be MAC title material.