OXFORD, Ohio – Five 3-pointers during a 22-5 run early in the second half helped Ohio win its sixth straight game, a 74-62 defeat of Miami at Millett Hall on Wednesday night.

Nick Kellogg had two of his five on the night during that span and finished with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. D.J. Cooper scored 17 points and added nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals, while Ivo Baltic scored his 1,000th career point during a double-double performance of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bobcats (14-5, 5-0 Mid-American Conference) connected on 12 of 25 3-pointers in the game and shot 52 percent overall.

“Coop did a good job of pushing the ball and guys were getting in their normal spots and the tremendous passer Coop is, he just found guys open.”

A pair of Will Felder free throws to open the second half cut Ohio’s lead to 36-31, and the Bobcats missed a pair of 3-pointers before heating up.

Reggie Keely converted a three-point play, and after a Miami basket, Cooper, Baltic and Kellogg hit three straight shots from deep with the RedHawks (7-10, 2-3 MAC) managing only a free throw. Following two free throws by Allen Roberts, Kellogg and Cooper drained consecutive shots from deep.

“That’s the type of team you can’t give wide open looks,” said Will Felder, who led Miami with 19 points and 10 rebounds. “I think it was more that they were just making wide open shots. I wouldn’t necessarily say they got hot. They just did what they were supposed to do.”

Ohio finally missed on a pair of 3-pointers, but Baltic slammed home the rebound on the second one to put the Bobcats ahead by 20. Cooper punctuate the run with a layup that made it 58-36 barely seven minutes into the half.

Although Miami did not roll over, it never really threatened after that. It got as close as 10 on a Quintin Rollins jumper with 3:47, but the RedHawks did not connect on another shot from the field the rest of the way. Rollins had a chance to reduce the deficit to eight after a steal, but he blew a breakaway layup.

“We have to understand that we did a lot of really good things,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “We rebounded the ball better. We shot the ball well. We had 21 assists, but you can’t go 10 for 19 from the free throw line and you can’t have mental lapses at the end, especially with seniors and juniors. There are things we have to clean up. Hopefully we’ll learn and get better for Saturday.”

It took time for the Bobcats to establish themselves. They did not take their first lead until a Kellogg 3-pointer put them up 15-12 at the 12:33 mark in the first half. It came after a Cooper trey and was followed by a Travis Wilkins 3-pointer comprising a 9-0 run. They never trailed again.

The Bobcats remain tied with Akron at 5-0 in league play, while every other team has at least two losses. After losing all four non-conference road games, Ohio has won two straight away from home in MAC play.

“It feels good,” Kellogg said. “Obviously, there’s things we need to work on and improve on like finishing games toward the end. I think that will come with time. It feels good to be in the position we’re in. We’ve worked hard for it.”

Miami shot just 34.9 percent in the game, but did a better job at converting at the foul line, making 15 of 21 attempts.

Ohio’s recent winning ways have come because of the Bobcats improving their defense, Christian said.

“They realized it was time to step it up and we’ve really guarded better and really played better the last three weeks,” he said.

Miami got more shot attempts by virtue of a 15-8 advantage in offensive rebounds and 16-10 edge in turnovers. The RedHawks outscored the Bobcats in the paint, 34-20.

Roberts finished with 14 points, while Geovonie McKnight scored 11 points.

Ohio travels to face Kent State at 6 p.m. Saturday at the MAC Center.