MUNCIE, Ind. – Nick Kellogg hit the go-ahead 3-pointer and came up with a key steal and layup as Ohio took a 61-60 victory against Ball State on Saturday at Worthen Arena.

The Cardinals rallied from a nine-point second half deficit, but the Bobcats made key plays in the final four minutes.

DeVaughn Washington had 16 points, while Kellogg finished with 11 points and Tommy Freeman had 10 in his hometown. Ivo Baltic had a career-high 12 rebounds, and it all helped make up for a sub-par game from leader D.J. Cooper. He finished with four points on 1 of 10 shooting, six assists and eight turnovers.

Jarrod Jones scored 21 points to carry the Cardinals, whose other two forwards Malik Perry and Matt Kamieniecki were hampered with severe foul trouble in a physical game that included a double technical foul that cleared the benches. Randy Davis had 11 points and six assists.

A steal and dunk by Chris Bond put Ball State (13-7, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) up 55-52 with 4:23 remaining after the Cardinals had trailed 44-35 early in the second half.

Cooper made his only field goal of the game on a floater in the paint to cut the Ohio deficit to one, and after both teams had turnovers, a Freeman steal followed by penetration by Cooper led to an open 3-point shot by Kellogg that put the Bobcats on top 57-55.

Kellogg game up with a steal, and he and Cooper converted on a two-on-one fast break with Kellogg’s layup putting the Bobcats on top by four with 1:52 remaining.

Jones scored in the paint, though, and after a turnover, Bond and Perry missed shots in the paint that could have tied the game, and Baltic came up with the rebound.

Forced to foul, the Cardinals sent Freeman to the line and he sank both to extend the lead back to four. Tyree Robinson missed a jumper, and although Kellogg missed on the front end of a one-and-one, Ball State had only enough time to get off a meaningless Davis 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Bobcats (10-11, 3-4 MAC) were 19 of 21 at the foul line, while the Cardinals were 8 of 16.

Ball State started quick, scoring seven straight points when the game was tied at 2. But Ohio came back and made a big run of its own at the end of the half.

Down 24-23, the Bobcats got six straight points at the foul line and then a Ricardo Johnson jumper to go up seven. They led 33-26 at the break and went up by nine on a Freeman 3-pointer with 16:10 remaining in the game.

The Cardinals made the game’s biggest run, though, scoring 12 points in a row and taking a 47-44 lead on a Jesse Berry 3-pointer with 13:21 to go.

The game was tied at 47 when Washington and Kamieniecki both were charged with technical fouls after an altercation following a loose ball. Players from both benches came on to the floor, and members of both teams, including Ohio’s Reggie Keely, had to be restrained.

The technical fouls were issued following officials’ review of the incident during the media timeout with 11:23 to go. It was Kamieniecki’s fourth personal foul, matching Perry, who picked up his fourth barely a minute into the second half.

A Kellogg 3-pointer put Ohio on top by four with 9:24 left in the game, but Ohio did not score again for six minutes when Cooper made his first and only basket.

Free throws helped the Bobcats make up for a 36.7 percent shooting game. The Cardinals made 47.1 percent of their attempts. Despite leading by seven at halftime, Ohio shot just 31.3 percent in the first half.

The Bobcats dominated the boards in the first half, pulling in 11 offensive rebounds, but did not have any in the second half.

Next up for Ohio is a 7:30 p.m. game at Central Michigan on Wednesday that will be broadcast on Sports Time Ohio.