ATHENS, Ohio – After leading by just one at halftime, Ohio pulled away in the second half for a physical 72-63 victory against Bowling Green in front of 10,846 on Sibs Weekend at The Convo on Saturday.

The Bobcats (17-6, 8-1 Mid-American Conference) had an early second-half 12-1 run to get separation from the Falcons (9-14, 4-6 MAC). But Bowling Green put up a fight – almost literally – the rest of the way, staying close as the teams sparred even after the final buzzer.

Ohio’s Walter Offutt took an elbow above the eye, the Bobcats’ D.J. Cooper and the Falcons’ Jordon Crawford and both benches were called for technical fouls and the teams had to be separated after the game.

Reggie Keely posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bobcats. T.J. Hall and Offutt had 12 points each, while D.J. Cooper finished with 10 points and eight assists.

A’uston Calhoun paced the Falcons with 19 points and eight boards, while Crawford scored 17 points and had four assists.

“When you’re in mid-February, you’ve got to find different ways to win basketball games,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “… Bowling Green played well, especially in the first half, and we came out and responded in the second half.”

Down 36-35 after a Chauncey Orr layup to start the second half, Ohio used a big spurt to take a 48-37 lead five minutes into the half. From there, the Bobcats led by at least six the rest of the way.

Offutt hit a jumper, which was followed by two Nick Kellogg free throws and a Hall 3-pointer. After Orr made a free throw, Keely scored in the paint on two straight possessions and then Hall converted a steal into a layup for a 48-37 Ohio lead.

“I thought we battled the first half,” Bowling Green coach Louis Orr said. “… We gave ourselves a chance to really have a good second half, but offensively we settled for too many jump shots early and then we had a stretch of bad possessions and turnovers and they capitalized.”

A Calhoun layup with 13:53 remaining finally ended Bowling Green’s stretch of more than five minutes without a field goal. Bowling Green was as close as six on a Crawford 3-pointer at the 11:51 mark and got within seven with 7:15 to go. Each time, Ohio had an immediate answer, getting baskets from Ivo Baltic and Offutt.

Finally, with a nine-point lead and 3:49 left, Ohio went on a 7-0 run with back-to-back Keely baskets and three Cooper free throws to put away the game.

Jehvon Clarke was called for an offensive foul with 5:49 left in the game, his elbow hitting Offutt in the head. Three minutes later, the four technical fouls were called, and during the postgame, handshakes turned instead into dissension.

“Both teams want the same thing,” Cooper said. “Nobody likes to lose and I feel like they got a little chippy at the end. It happens.”

Ohio repeatedly threatened to pull away in the first half, but Bowling Green had answers.

The Bobcats led 10-4 on an Offutt trey, but the Falcons tied it with six straight points. Ohio went on top, 23-16, on a Jon Smith free throw with 9:09 remaining, but Bowling Green got back within a point, 25-24, on a Crawford jumper three minutes later. After a Baltic jumper gave the Bobcats a six-point edge at the 4:41 mark, Bowling Green got within one again two minutes later on a Craig Sealey dunk.

“We came out sleepwalking a little bit and the second half we came out better,” Keely said.

After seven first-half Bowling Green turnovers led to only two Ohio points, nine second-half turnovers resulted in 14 points.

“You can’t do that,” Orr said. “Ohio is the second-leading scoring team in this league. You’ve got to have good possessions every time down. We started it and they finished it. We turned the ball over and they converted it.”

The Bobcats shot 44.6 percent for the game, but they struggled from the outside, making just 6 of 23 attempts. The Falcons shot 41.4 percent, including 38.5 percent after halftime.

Bowling Green had 41 rebounds to Ohio’s 32, with Sealy pulling down 12 boards. The Falcons also had more turnovers, though, 16-10. Hall had four steals.

Ohio travels to Central Michigan to take on the Chippewas at 7 p.m. Wednesday.