ATHENS, Ohio – Ohio forced 31 turnovers and held Mercyhurst to 27.3 percent shooting, rolling to an 82-42 exhibition victory Saturday at The Convo.

The Bobcats scored 36 points off turnovers and were led by Nick Kellogg, who was 5 of 7 from 3-point range, finishing with 19 points. Reggie Keely scored 13 points and Walter Offutt reached double figures with 10 points.

D.J. Cooper led Ohio’s harassment of Mercyhurst’s ball handling with four steals and he also dished out nine assists while scoring seven points on 3-of-5 shooting. The Bobcats shot 50 percent, but minus Kellogg, they were off the mark from deep (3 of 20).

The Division II Lakers held an early 10-7 advantage at the 15:44 mark in the first half, but they did not score again for more than eight minutes as the Bobcats went on a 16-0 run.

Jean Onana’s free throw with 4:36 left in the first half made it a 31-17 game, but again, Mercyhurst went on a long drought, not scoring again until there was 15:46 remaining in the second half, a span of nearly nine minutes in which Ohio scored 20 consecutive points to grab a 51-17 lead.

Mercyhurst also did not score in the final 5:16 of the game.

Luis Leao led the Lakers with 14 points and seven rebounds. The rest of his teammates combined to make only seven field goals in the game.

Jon Smith had nine points and three steals for Ohio but only two rebounds and five turnovers. Ricardo Johnson (1 of 4) and junior college transfer Travis Wilkins (1 of 5) were among the only Ohio players to struggle offensively, but Wilkins had three steals in just 12 minutes and Johnson led the Bobcats with eight rebounds.

It is the only exhibition game of this season for Ohio, which will open the regular season with a 2 p.m. game Saturday against Portland at The Convo.