AMHERST, Mass. – Jesse Morgan scored 35 points to lead Massachusetts to an 85-76 victory against Ohio at the Mullins Center on Wednesday night.

Morgan scored 24 of those points in the first half, helping the Minutemen (6-3) turn an early 12-point deficit into a lead as large as 11 points. He finished 12 of 18 from the field, including 7 of 10 from 3-point range.

Cady Lalanne added 12 points and 11 rebounds for UMass.

D.J. Cooper scored 23 points, dished out 10 assists and had seven rebounds for Ohio, which lost for the fourth time in five games and is winless in three road games. Walter Offutt and Nick Kellogg added 18 and 15 points, respectively.

The Bobcats (7-4) got off to a hot start, taking an 18-6 lead on an Offutt 3-pointer only five minutes into the game, but the Minutemen went on a huge 23-2 run during the next seven minutes to go up 29-19.

Ohio rallied to tie the game at 55 early in the second half before UMass took control for good with an 11-0 run.

Both scoring binges were spearheaded by Morgan, who scored his first basket at the 13:22 mark of the first half. He scored six of the next eight points after that, getting UMass to within two, and after an Offutt free throw with 10:44 remaining, a Freddie Riley 3-pointer tied the game at 19.

Morgan added a jumper and three free throws and then drained another 3-pointer after two foul shots by Lalanne, giving the Minutemen a 10-point lead with 8:08 to go.

Trailing 48-40 at halftime, Ohio got within four on a Kellogg 3-pointer and trailed by just three after an Offutt triple four minutes into the second half. Cooper’s shot from long range knotted the game at 53.

After the teams traded baskets, though, Morgan resumed his scorching pace, connecting on three more 3-pointers during the 11-0 run.

The Bobcats only got as close as six after that, with one such instance occurring with a Kellogg layup with 4:03 remaining. The Bobcats had two shots to cut into their deficit on their next possession, but Cooper missed a jumper and T.J. Hall misfired on a 3-pointer.

Ohio had yet another chance to make it closer after a steal, but the Bobcats turned it over, and instead, Maxie Esho threw down a fast-break dunk that made it 80-72 with 2:53 remaining.

Cooper’s layup with 1:21 remaining got Ohio as close as six again. Sampson Carter made two free throws, and the Bobcats missed on the other end, ending any comeback hopes.

Although Morgan’s shooting had much to do with the outcome, so did free throws. Ohio was 6 of 10, while UMass was 24 of 35. The Minutemen shot 48.1 percent overall, compared to 45.3 percent for the Bobcats.

The teams were even on the boards with 35 each and UMass had slightly more turnovers, 20-17.

Ivo Baltic nearly posted an unconventional double-double for Ohio, finishing with 10 rebounds and nine assists, but only two points on 1-of-8 shooting. He also had five turnovers, as did Cooper.

Chaz Williams scored nine points and had eight assists and three steals for UMass.

Ohio tries to get things turned around when it hosts winless Maryland-Eastern Shore (0-10) at 2 p.m. Saturday at The Convo.