Ohio suffers devastating blow, loses Antonio Campbell for season

Ohio’s MAC chances took a hit last Saturday with a loss at Akron.

They took a bigger hit Thursday as it was announced reigning MAC POY Antonio Campbell would miss the rest of the season with a broken foot.

The injury ends the senior’s career and leaves a gaping hole in the Bobcats’ front court. Campbell’s stat line was impressive (16.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.1 BPG), and he was anchoring the league’s most efficient defense.

He suffered the injury in the opening minutes of Ohio’s loss to Eastern Michigan on Jan. 14, and missed the following game at Akron.

Gavin Block talked about the impact of Campbell’s injury after the EMU game with The Post.

“It’s really the same offense,” Gavin Block said about Ohio adjusting its game plan around Campbell’s absence. “We just gotta have the next guy step up.”

The Bobcats, now sitting at 3-2, will look to Kenny Kaminski (27.1 MPG) and Doug Taylor (13.3 MPG) for increased production.

The brightest ray of hope may be Jason Carter. The freshman forward, who also held offers from Kent State and Miami (OH), had the best game of his young career against EMU (14 points, 11 rebounds), and was solid against Akron (6 points, 8 rebounds).

For Campbell, it’s a devastating end to a great career.

He finishes as the 22nd all-time scorer in program history (1,257 points), 10th all-time rebounder (800 rebounds) and ninth all-time in blocks (119 blocks). Campbell was also just the ninth player to be named MAC POY, and talked about the award with The Post last March.

"It feels good, but I just want to win a MAC (title). I just want get to the NCAA Tournament," Campbell said Monday after practice when asked about his first team All-MAC honors.

The Bobcats now face an uphill battle to capture the MAC title and realize Campbell’s dream with him sidelined.

Ohio is back in action Jan. 21, visiting a Northern Illinois team tied for the lead in the West division.