BUFFALO, N.Y. – Ohio grabbed 21 offensive rebounds against one of the Mid-American Conference’s leading rebounding teams in an 88-77 victory against Buffalo at UB Arena that puts the Bobcats in a three-way tie for second place.

Walter Offutt knocked down five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points as Ohio (22-6, 9-4 MAC) shot just 39 percent but scored 24 second-chance points. D.J. Cooper finished with 20 points, eight assists and four steals.

Nick Kellogg scored all 15 of his points in the second half. Ivo Baltic and T.J. Hall, playing an extended role because of an injury to Ricardo Johnson, both totaled nine points and nine rebounds.

Mitchell Watt and Javon McCrea each scored 17 points to lead Buffalo (16-9, 9-4 MAC). Titus Robinson added 14 points, while Zach Filzen scored 11 points.

After the Bobcats led by 15 points midway through the second half, the Bulls made a 12-2 run, getting to within five, 62-57, on a Robinson follow dunk with 7:26 remaining.

Robinson, though, was called for a technical foul for slapping the backboard, Nick Kellogg made both free throws and Offutt hit a trey that quickly put Ohio back on top by 10.

The Bobcats carried the momentum, pushing the lead to as big as 82-63 with 1:38 remaining.

Taking a 37-32 lead into the second half, Ohio went up seven on a Baltic jumper, but Buffalo responded with seven straight points, tying the game at 39 on a Watt layup at the 18:08 mark.

Kellogg caught fire, though, making a 3-pointer, making a pair of free throws and then converting a three-point play off a steal to put the Bobcats up 47-39. He later added a triple that made it 60-45 with 10:53 remaining.

Ohio actually trailed, 30-29, on two Watt free throws with just 2:33 left before halftime, but Offutt turned the game back in favor of the Bobcats with consecutive 3-pointers. Cooper made it an 8-0 run with two free throws before Robinson scored a dunk to cut Buffalo’s deficit to five points at halftime.

A Filzen 3-pointer gave the Bulls their biggest lead, 13-8, only five minutes into the game before the Bobcats came back with 12 of the next 14 points for a 20-15 lead.

While pounding the offensive glass, the Bobcats also forced 14 turnovers with only eight of their own and finished with 75 shot attempts from the floor, making 29. They also were 20 of 21 at the foul line.

Buffalo shot 47 percent but did so on 20 less attempts with only two more free throws in the game. The Bulls were 18 of 23 at the foul line.

With the victory, Ohio swept the season series against Buffalo and tied the Bulls and Kent State for second place overall in the MAC. Akron (12-1 MAC) clinched at least a share of the regular season title with a three-game lead and three games remaining.

The top four teams in the MAC get byes in the tournament and the Bobcats now have a two-game lead on fifth-place Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan (both 7-6 MAC). Ohio controls its own destiny as far as finishing in the top two, which would ensure a bye into the semifinals.

Ohio hosts the first-place Zips on a nationally-televised game at 8 p.m. Sunday.