ATHENS, Ohio – Ohio’s defense clamped down on Eastern Michigan, limiting the Eagles to 27.6 percent shooting in a runaway 73-50 victory Wednesday night at The Convo.

The Bobcats ran out to a 17-3 lead in the game’s first 10 minutes and built a 36-16 halftime lead.

Reggie Keely went 8 of 12 and scored 20 points, while D.J. Cooper had 16 points, 10 assists and five steals for the Bobcats (20-6, 11-1 Mid-American Conference).

J.R. Sims was the only player for Eastern Michigan (12-14, 5-7 MAC) to reach double digits, finishing with 12. Derek Thompson had nine points, but it came on 2-of-11 shooting.

“When you play Eastern Michigan, it’s such a pace-controlled game,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “… We got the lead on them early, which you really have to do. I tip my hat to our defense. … I was glad to see our team sustain that for the full 40 minutes, which we'll have to do for the next two games.”

Glenn Bryant hit a 3-pointer two minutes into the game for Eastern Michigan, but the Eagles did not score for more than eight minutes when Jalen Ross connected on a jumper. By then, Ohio had run off 15 straight points to take control. Eastern Michigan committed six turnovers in nine possessions during that span.

“We couldn’t score to start the game,” Eastern Michigan coach Rob Murphy said. “We struggled in the area. We turned it over some and got to the end of the shot clock and couldn’t get off shots.”

Ross scored again at the 5:34 mark to make the score 25-12, but the Bobcats closed the half on an 11-4 run. Walter Offutt, Ivo Baltic and Keely scored consecutive baskets – all on Cooper assists – and Cooper closed out the half with a 3-pointer.

Against the Eagles’ normally-stingy zone defense, the Bobcats shot 57.7 percent in the first half and 48.3 percent in the game. Keely had 11 points and Cooper had eight assists before the break.

“Coach has had us working on it the last two days, not getting content with 3s,” Cooper said. “We were making sure we get the big guys touches and then mixing it in.”

Ohio went on a 12-0 run in a three-minute span in the second half. Cooper passed ahead to Offutt for a layup after a steal and then knocked down a triple. Jon Smith threw down a dunk and then Cooper connected from deep again before Stevie Taylor completed the run with a jumper to give the Bobcats a 53-26 advantage.

An Anthony Strickland putback at the 8:04 mark ended a stretch of six minutes without an Eagles field goal. It was followed by back-to-back 3-pointers by Sims and Thompson, but the small spurt was ended with a Keely three-point play.

Things got heated down the stretch, beginning with a hard foul by Antoine Chandler on Keely. Offutt was charged with a technical after retaliating with a shove. Two minutes later, Keely returned the favor with a flagrant foul on Sims. The Eagles’ Matt Balkema was charged with a technical foul in retaliation.

“Tension is high this time of year,” Keely said. “Guys are playing for a lot. Guys dream about winning championships and making runs. It’s normal for guys to get a little testy around this time of year.”

Both teams finished with 14 turnovers, but the Bobcats dominated play inside with a 36-18 edge in points in the paint. Baltic had a game-high nine rebounds to go with eight points.

Finally, Ohio will get a second shot at Akron, unbeaten in MAC play, in its next conference game.

“We gave that game away,” Cooper said. “We were up 13. I put the game on me because I’m a senior guard. It won’t happen next Wednesday, though.”

First, though, the Bobcats hit the road for their BracketBuster game against Belmont at 10 p.m. Saturday in Nashville.