HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – Senior DeVaughn Washington scored 17 points to lead Ohio to an opening round 65-64 victory against rival Marshall in the College Insider.com Postseason Tournament at the Cam Henderson Center on Tuesday night.

D.J. Cooper, who finished with 10 points and nine assists, scored the go-ahead layup with 1:30 remaining. Reggie Keely posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, and in a balanced scoring effort, Ivo Baltic and Tommy Freeman added 10 and nine points, respectively.

Tirrell Baines had 18 points for Marshall (22-12). Damier Pitts finished with 17 points, and Nigel Spikes totaled 19 rebounds.

In a back-and-forth second half, an Ivo Baltic jumper put the Bobcats (19-15) up three with 4:39 remaining, but Baines and Pitts scored back-to-back baskets to give the lead back to the Thundering Herd.

The Ohio victory avenges a regular season home defeat, 65-57, on Dec. 4 and also advances the Bobcats in the tournament while ending the Thundering Herd’s season. It also ends a three-game losing streak against Marshall.

Cooper scored a fastbreak layup to give the lead back to Ohio, and after Baines answer, Cooper scored what turned out to be the game winner.

Marshall missed its final four shots and one turnover down the stretch, failing to take advantage of Nick Kellogg and Cooper both missing on the front ends of one-and-ones. The Bobcats were just 2 of 9 at the foul line in the game.

The Thundering Herd scored the game’s first six points and led 8-1, but the Bobcats battled back, tying the game at 20 on a T.J. Hall three-point play with 10:52 remaining in the half.

A Kellogg 3-pointer at the 4:52 mark gave Ohio its first lead, 27-25, but Marshall gave back with seven straight points to reclaim control and took a 36-33 advantage into the locker room. It could have been more, but DeAndre Kane’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was called off because officials ruled the clock did nto start on time.

Washington scored a layup off of a Cooper steal early in the second half to give Ohio a brief lead. Marshall, though, came back to take a 46-41 advantage on two Johnny Thomas free throws at the 15:29 mark.

Keely put back his own miss with 11:48 remaining to put Ohio on top 50-49, and Marshall came back with a mini-run to go on top 56-52 on a Pitts 3-pointer.

Freeman nailed a 3-pointer and Washington had consecutive baskets during a 7-0 run, and the Bobcats still led by three, 61-58 on Baltic’s jumper.

Ohio recovered from a poor shooting first half (36.8 percent) to shoot 46.9 percent in the second half. Conversely, Marshall made 45.5 percent of its shots in the first half and only 36.7 percent of its shots in the second half. The Thundering herd was just 3 of 19 from behind the arc.

Both teams crashed the boards with 18 offensive rebounds each, and the Bobcats forced more turnovers, 15-10. Kellogg had four steals.

It was the first time in school history Ohio won a postseason game in back-to-back seasons. The Bobcats knocked off Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year. It also was Ohio’s 11th postseason victory in its history, more than any other Mid-American Conference team.

Old Dominion is the only school ever to have won a game in the NCAA Tournament, the NIT, the College Basketball Invitational and the CBI.

First-round games of the 24-team CIT conclude Wednesday. Among the 12 winners, four teams earn a bye into the quarterfinals on Monday and Tuesday, while eight winners must compete in the second round Friday and Saturday.

The Bobcats’ next game will be announced in the next few days.