Ohio University took a one-point halftime lead and led by as many as 20 in the second half on the way to a 67-58 victory over host Northern Illinois last night in a Mid-American Conference game.

Walter Offutt scored 19 points, Reggie Keely 13 and Nick Kellogg of DeSales 12 for the Bobcats (18-4, 6-2), who shot 52.2 percent from the field in the second half.

The Bobcats won their fifth straight and are tied for second with Buffalo in the MAC East. Both teams trail Akron (15-7, 7-1), which defeated Ohio 68-63 on Jan. 14, with a rematch in Athens on Feb. 25.

Antone Christian led Northern Illinois (2-18, 1-7) with 15 points, and Nader Abdel added 12. The Huskies controlled play early, taking a 12-5 lead with 11:51 left in the first half on an Abdel free throw.

The Bocbats came back to grab a four-point lead with 3:22 left in the half on two Offutt free throws. The Bobcats led 27-26 at halftime before overwhelming the Huskies in the second.

Akron 86, Toledo 72 — Quincy Diggs led a balanced offense with 16 points, and Akron (15-7, 7-1 MAC) defeated Toledo (10-12, 2-6) for the sixth straight time.

Zeke Marshall and Alex Abreu added 14 points each, Chauncey Gilliam had 11 and Nikola Cvetinovic 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Zips. Akron has won four games in a row and eight of its past nine.

The Zips had their best shooting night of the season, making 60 percent (30 of 50) of their shots from the field, including 8 of 19 from three-point range. Toledo shot 47.5 percent (28 of 59).

Rian Pearson scored a career-high 29 points for Toledo, which is 4-11 since starting the season 6-1.

Miami University 62, Eastern Michigan 57 — Julian Mavunga had 19 points and 19 rebounds to lead host Miami (6-14, 2-6 MAC), which ended a four-game losing streak. Darrell Lampley scored 17 for Eastern Michigan (10-12, 5-3).

Bowling Green 72, Western Michigan 48 — Dee Brown had 21 points and Bowling Green (10-11, 4-4 MAC) shot 76 percent in the second half. Jordon Crawford added 16 points and eight assists and A’uston Calhoun 15 points. Host Western Michigan is 10-12, 4-4.

Xavier 59, George Washington 58 — Tu Holloway’s layup with 30 seconds left capped a great night for the senior as his 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds led Xavier (15-7, 6-3 Atlantic 10) to a road victory.

Holloway easily maneuvered past the Colonials for the decisive score. With 1:14 left, his layup cut George Washington’s lead to 58-57.

There were nine lead changes in the last nine minutes, and neither team committed a turnover in the last 10 minutes.

Tony Taylor led George Washington (8-14, 3-5) with 20 points. The Musketeers, who have won six of their past eight games, kept the Colonials scoreless for the last 3:22.

Duquesne 83, Dayton 73 — B.J. Monteiro scored 20 points to lead Duquesne (13-9, 4-4 Atlantic 10), which ended a two-game losing streak. Kevin Dillard scored 22 for host Dayton (14-8, 4-4), which has lost three straight.

Capital 80, Ohio Northern 77 — Kelly Winter scored 18 points and Spencer Niekamp 16 to lead Capital (13-7, 10-3 Ohio Athletic Conference), which led the entire second half for a home victory. Brenden Rushton scored 21 for Ohio Northern (9-11, 5-8).

Baldwin-Wallace 84, Otterbein 76 — Tyler Ferrell had 15 points to lead Baldwin-Wallace (12-8, 7-6 OAC). Chris Davis had 20 points and Brice Rausch 18 for host Otterbein (6-14, 3-10).