DENVER – Ohio missed two chances to tie or take the lead in the final 30 seconds and the Bobcats’ season came to an end with a 61-57 loss to Denver in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday night at Magness Arena.

With Ohio trailing by one, D.J. Cooper’s layup try was short with 21 seconds left, and after Chase Hallam made one free throw, Reggie Keely could not convert in the paint. The Pioneers got a dunk in the final second for the final margin.

In his final game as a Bobcat, Cooper had 16 points and four assists. Keely scored 12 points, while Ivo Baltic had 15 rebounds.

Brett Olson led the Pioneers (22-9) with 15 points. Chris Udofia finished with 14 points, while Cam Griffin came off the bench to post a double-double with a career-high 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Denver led by five and nearly came up with a pair of steals before Cooper knocked down a 25-footer with 3:03 remaining. Cooper missed a jumper and Keely was off the mark on the front end of a one-and-one before Hallam made a free throw with 1:19 remaining to make it 58-55.

Keely scored a left-handed hook shot with 1:03 remaining to get the Bobcats (24-10) within a point, and the Pioneers turned it over with 38 seconds to go, giving Ohio its opportunities in the final seconds.

Denver led by as many as six points in the first half before Ohio came back to take a two-point lead at the break, thanks to seven straight points by Cooper, who had not scored to that point. His layup with four seconds before halftime made it 32-30 in favor of the Bobcats.

Udofia had a dunk with 16:37 remaining in the game to put Denver back on top, but Cooper connected on a pair of 3-pointers with a Travis Wilkins jumper in between to put the Bobcats on top, 42-35.

Stevie Taylor had back-to-back buckets for Ohio to answer Denver buckets, but the Pioneers came back with a 10-2 run that included a controversial three-point play.

Keely gave the Bobcats their final lead, 52-51, with 7:04 remaining by scoring in the paint. The Pioneers answered with six straight points before Cooper’s long 3-pointer began Ohio’s last push.

Ohio held an early 8-5 lead, but Denver came back with seven straight points, taking a 12-8 lead on an Olson 3-pointer at the 13:43 mark. A Jon Smith dunk tied it at 12, but Udofia capped a 6-0 Denver run midway through the half, and the lead was still 30-25 when Cooper finally got going with his first made field goal since the Western Michigan game.

Denver shot 53.7 percent from the floor, compared to just 41.5 percent by Ohio, but the Bobcats took advantage of a rare size advantage by holding an 11-5 offensive rebounding edge. The Pioneers, though, had fewer turnovers, 14-10.

The Bobcats made all seven of their free throw tries until Keely’s late miss, while the Pioneers got 21 more attempts at the line but converted on barely half (15 of 29). Ohio was 6 of 12 from beyond the arc, compared to 2 of 10 by Denver, which averages more than 8 made 3-pointers per game.

It was the end of the college careers of scholarship players Cooper, Keely, Baltic and Walter Offutt, who did not attempt a shot in 36 minutes, and walk-ons David McKinley and Nick Goff. The senior class won more games (94) than any other in school history, claimed two Mid-American Conference tournament and one regular season championship and won three NCAA Tournament games.

Cooper made history by becoming the first player in NCAA history to record 2,000 points, 900 assists, 500 rebounds and 300 career steals. He finished 12th in Division I history with 934 assists and became Ohio’s all-time leader in steals and 3-pointers. Keely and Baltic were 1,000-point scorers in their careers.

The game was Ohio’s fifth all-time appearance in the NIT and its first since 1995.

Denver, a No. 3 seed, advances to face No. 2 seed Maryland in the second round.