Box Score ST. THOMAS, USVI – Ohio drained 14 3-pointers on Saturday afternoon as the Bobcats downed the Norfolk State men's basketball team, 93-71, during the second round of the Paradise Jam at the Sports & Fitness Center on the campus of the University of the Virgin Islands.
 
The Bobcats shot 14-of-26 from long range and hit better than 50 percent overall for the game. The Spartans connected on 8-of-16 from 3-point land and were led by the senior duo of Jeff Short and D'Shon Taylor. The latter had 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting to finish one point short of his career high while also adding seven boards.
 
Short tallied 19 points as the only other double-figure scorer for the Spartans. He hit 4-of-6 from 3-point range a day after being held to single digit scoring for the first time in 32 games.
 
Ohio (3-1) held a 37-24 edge on the boards and outscored the Spartans 16-6 in second-chance points. The Bobcats also got a lot of production from their bench (40-19) and had 27 fastbreak points to 11 for NSU (1-3).
 
The Spartans never led in the game, although they did get to within one in the latter stages of the first half. Ohio used a big run at the end for a 20-point lead at the break, but the Spartans were able to battle back to get to within five near the midway point of the second half.
 
Ohio, though, quickly squashed that rally and went ahead by as much as 24 near the end of the game.
 
The Bobcats began the game on a 12-2 run before Taylor and Short sank back-to-back 3-pointers. Kenny Kaminski made another trey for Ohio for a 17-10 edge at the 12:17 mark, but the Spartans were able to get to one on buckets by Taylor and sophomore Zaynah Robinson and a transition layup by junior Jonathan Wade.
 
The Bobcats, though, scored nine straight, part of a 15-2 run that extended the lead to double digits. Ohio hit eight 3-pointers in the first half and ultimately outscored the Spartans 25-6 in the last seven and a half minutes before the break for a 47-27 lead.
 
Ohio drained eight 3-pointers in the first half of its game against Tulsa on Friday as well.
 
The Spartans responded when they came out of the locker room, scoring the first eight points of the second half, including the first six on 3-pointers by Short. The run extended to 12-3 after Taylor's layup just over the outstretched hands of a defender at 16:00.
 
The Spartans cut the Ohio lead to six at 54-48 after scoring seven straight, capped by a tip-in by Taylor at 12:31. Short's scoop layup around a defender a minute and a half later made it 57-52, but Ohio scored seven straight to get the lead back into double digits.
 
The Bobcats were never threatened after that point.
 
Ohio finished the day 28-of-55 overall (50.9 percent) with 25 assists on those 28 buckets. Jaaron Simmons finished with 13 assists and 11 points and was one of five players in double figures.
 
Gavin Block added 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting with six boards and six assists. Treg Setty shot 6-of-10, including 4-of-7 from long range, for 16 points. Antonio Campbell added 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks as Ohio finished with a 9-0 edge in swats for the game.
 
Senior Charles Oliver was the next highest scorer for NSU with nine points. NSU connected on 24-of-57 (42.1 percent) from the floor.
 
Ohio also shot an efficient 23-of-29 (79.3 percent) from the free throw line.
 
NSU will finish the tournament on Monday against either DePaul or Florida State at 1:30 p.m. EST.