ATHENS, Ohio – Ohio held a short-handed Western Michigan team to 30.2 percent shooting to take a 56-61 victory on Wednesday night at The Convo.

D.J. Cooper was the only Ohio player to score in double digits, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. The Bobcats (16-4, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) shot only 35.3 percent and committed 14 turnovers, but forced 17.

Getting substantial playing time because of a first-half injury to Demetrius Ward, freshman Austin Richie led the Broncos (9-11, 3-3 MAC) with 16 points. Mike Douglas added 12 points but was only 2 of 13 from the field with six turnovers. Shayne Whittington carried the load inside with nine points and 13 rebounds with leading scorer and rebounder Matt Stainbrook not making the trip because of disciplinary reasons.

It appeared Ohio could dominate early, taking an 8-1 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by Cooper and Nick Kellogg. Jon Smith’s putback dunk made it 10-1 before Austin finally sank the Broncos’ first field goal with a 3-pointer at the 15:01 mark.

Ohio’s lead peaked at 29-14 with a Cooper free throw at the 5:35 mark, but Western Michigan closed out the half on a 16-1 run to knot the game at 30 at the half on a Richie 3-pointer.

Another Richie triple gave the Broncos their first lead, 33-32, early in the second half, but it was short-lived as Offutt answered with a 3-pointer. Mike Douglas connected from beyond the arc with 12:33 remaining to put Western Michigan back on top, 40-38, and Whittington followed a Jon Smith dunk with one of his own to make it 42-40 at the 10:50 mark.

Ivo Baltic tied the game for the last time at 42 with a layup. Cooper made two free throws after a Flenard Whitfield technical foul drawn by Ricardo Johnson, and Johnson added a jumper to put the Bobcats on top, 46-42. Johnson added a free throw at the 7:09 mark to cap off the deciding 7-0 run.

After a Hutcheson layup, Copper hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game for a six-point Ohio lead, and the Bobcats held an advantage of between four and six points the rest of the way.

Johnson finished with nine points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes, filling in for Walter Offutt, who managed only seven points in 14 minutes before fouling out. Smith had six points and eight rebounds, including six on the offensive end.

Western Michigan reeled in 15 offensive rebounds to help make up for its poor shooting night. It scored 13 second-chance points.

Ohio wraps up a four-game homestand with an 11 a.m. game Saturday against Ball State on a game to be broadcast on ESPNU.