KALAMAZOO, Mich. – After leading by as much as 12 in the second half, Ohio held on to beat Western Michigan, 61-59, when David Brown’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was way off the mark Saturday at University Arena.

D.J. Cooper scored 16 points and added six assists and five rebounds as the Bobcats (11-5, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) won for the first time in five tries this season on the road.

Ohio held its biggest lead, 43-31, with 12:47 remaining following Nick Kellogg’s three-point play, and the lead was still eight with less than five minutes remaining after a Cooper free throw.

Walter Offutt scored a layup on an inbounds play to put the Bobcats up, 58-51, but Nate Hutscheson answered with a jumper, and after Ivo Baltic missed the rim on a corner 3-pointer, Jared Klein, a freshman who led the Broncos (8-7, 0-2 MAC) with a career-high 18 points, hit two free throws to make it a three-point game with 2:26 remaining.

Baltic made up for his miss on the previous possession by knocking down an open jumper at the 1:30 mark, making it 60-55. Brown committed a turnover, and after Ohio worked the clock, Reggie Keely missed a shot and then fouled out on the other end. Klein made two free throws with 19 seconds left and then came up with a steal for a layup to make it a one-point game with seven seconds to go.

After being fouled, Cooper made just the second of two free throws with six seconds left. Ricardo Johnson blocked Brown on a drive to the basket, but Western Michigan retained possession with 1.2 seconds left. The inbound pass went to Brown, who fired it off the top, right side of the backboard.

The Broncos shot only 28.3 percent (15 of 53) in the game, but got to the foul line frequently, taking advantage by making 26 of 34 attempts. Klein was 11 of 12. The Bobcats shot 41.2 percent (21 or 51) from the field and made 13 of 22 foul shots.

With two free throws by Klein at the 2:19 mark in the first half, Western Michigan took a 25-24 lead, but Ohio scored five points in the final 36 seconds to take a four-point lead to the locker room. Keely scored a basket in the post, Cooper picked Klein’s pocket and scored a layup and then after another steal, T.J. Hall made a free throw.

After Nate Hutcheson made two free throws, the Broncos trailed by three early in the second half, but the Bobcats made their biggest run by scoring nine straight points. Johnson made two free throws, Cooper found Jon Smith for a dunk, Cooper scored a layup and then Kellogg completed the three-point play that made it a 12-point game.

Down 10, Klein drained a 3-pointer and Brown completed a three-point play, but Hall answered with a trey to put Ohio back up seven with 7:15 remaining. A Cooper 3-pointer at the 5:27 mark made it 55-47 in favor of the Bobcats.

Keely, who played only 13 minutes because of foul trouble, had 10 points and five rebounds for the Bobcats. Hall finished with nine points, while Kellogg had eight points. Baltic had four fouls in just 14 minutes, while Smith had four fouls in 16 minutes.

While Ohio has excelled at forcing turnovers this year, it caused only 12 by the Broncos and had 17 of its own.

The first half was back and forth with the Broncos never leading by more than two points. Three different times, the Bobcats led by four points in the first half.

Shayne Whittington posted a double-double for Western Michigan with 10 points and 13 rebounds, but he made just 2 of 12 shots from the field.

It was Ohio’s first win in Kalamazoo since beating the Broncos, 78-73, in overtime in 2007.

Ohio hosts Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. Wednesday.