CLEVELAND – As he so often has, D.J. Cooper made big plays when Ohio needed it most.

Cooper finished with 21 points and 10 assists, helping the Bobcats build a big lead and then hold off Western Michigan, 74-63, in the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday night.

Ohio (24-8) advance to finals of the MAC Tournament opposite Akron for the third time in four years.

Western Michigan (20-12) trailed by 17 at the break but made a run in the first 10 minutes of the second half, closing to within two, 48-46, on a Shayne Whittington basket. But Cooper did not let the Broncos get any closer, draining a long 3-pointer to keep the Bobcats in control.

“I knew if it didn’t go in, it probably wouldn’t have been one of the best shots, but I was wide open and I stepped up and knocked it down,” Cooper said. “It felt pretty good to get it up to five points after they made a run.”

He went 6 of 8 from the field, including 4 of 6 from long range. Walter Offutt matched Cooper’s double-double with 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Reggie Keely scored 12 points.

Nate Hutcheson and Darius Paul had 16 points apiece for the Broncos.

With Western Michigan down seven, Cooper got ahead of the defense for a layup, and then after a Hutcheson 3-pointer, Cooper completed a three-point play to give the Bobcats a 61-52 lead with 4:31 remaining.

“D.J. is D.J.,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “That’s what he does. He makes big plays.”

David Brown answered with a layup for Western Michigan, but Offutt assisted on a thunderous Jon Smith dunk and Cooper found Nick Kellogg for corner 3-pointer to give Ohio a 12-points lead with 2:25 remaining. After Paul came back with a long distance shot, Kellogg struck again with a just a minute remaining.

Cooper dominated the first half with his passing, tallying eight assists before halftime and getting the Bobcats easy basket after easy basket. They shot 63.6 percent in the first half.

“D.J. Cooper, I think, he showed why he’s the best player in the conference in the first half, and that got them out to a big lead,” Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins said.

It was a Cooper 3-pointer that ignited 16-2 run. It gave Ohio an 11-8 lead at the 13:29 mark and was followed by a Keely layup and a Ricardo Johnson three-point play. Ivo Baltic connected from long range to make it 19-8.

After Shayne Whittington finally snapped the Broncos’ scoreless drought, Keely scored in the paint and then Cooper hit from deep again to put Ohio on top 24-10. With Kellogg’s first 3-pointer 15 minutes into the half, the Bobcats had their biggest lead, 34-15.

“We got a lot of open-court plays,” Christian said. “(Cooper) is really good in the open court.”

Western Michigan had nine turnovers and shot 39.1 percent in the first half, falling behind 41-24.

But things were different in the second half when the Broncos shot 54.5 percent with only five turnovers.

“We started making shots in the second half,” Hawkins said. “When we made shots, it allowed us to set our defense. If you turn the ball over or if you miss shots, and especially in either one of those cases if they get the ball into Cooper’s hands, you’ve got your hands full.”

The Broncos pieced together a 7-0 run, cutting their deficit to single-digits on a Brandon Pokley jumper barely more than three minutes into the second half.

Still down nine with 13 minutes remaining, Western Michigan made an 8-1 run, closing its gap to 48-46 with 10:21 left.

“That’s part of basketball,” Christian said. “If you tune in and watch basketball, leads go. Everybody is fighting and trying to prolong their careers. No one rolls over. That’s what happens when you have good teams competing with each other.”

But Cooper did not let the Broncos get any closer.

“That’s what he does,” Hawkins said. “You make a run and you’re right there and he hits big 3s. He’s got the courage of a burglar.”

Pokley and Brown finished with 10 points each for Western Michigan. Whittington was held to six points but had 12 rebounds.

Now it is on to the MAC Championship for the Bobcats, who get a third shot at Akron. Although the Zips won both regular season matchups, the teams shared the regular season conference championship.

Ohio beat Akron in last year’s title game, 64-63, and in 2010 in overtime, 81-75. It is the Zips’ seventh straight appearance in the finals.

The Bobcats had double-digit leads that they were not able to hold in both of this year’s regular season matchups, but the Zips now are playing without suspended point guard Alex Abreu.

“They’re a good basketball team with Alex Abreu. They’re a good basketball team without him,” Christian said. “I think they’ve got the best mid-major frontcourt in the nation.”

Kent State gave Akron all it could handle in the other semifinal matchup, but the Zips came up big down the stretch and rallied for a 62-59 victory.

“It’s only right,” Cooper said. “They beat us twice. We feel like we gave the game away twice.”

Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena and will be broadcast on ESPN2.