ATHENS – Ohio won the Bobcat Battle championship by beating Alabama State 72-58 on Sunday afternoon at The Convo.

Miles Brown scored 18 points, and with Dwight Wilson sitting out, AJ Clayton had his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats (3-3). Ben Roderick came off the bench to score 11 points.

Ohio shot 48.6% in the first half to build a 45-27 lead and then held off the Hornets (1-7). Alabama State won its first game of the year a day earlier by beating Eastern Illinois 67-58 at The Convo.

With the Bobcats going cold in the second half, the Hornets got as close as 56-49 with 9:05 remaining on an Antonio Madlock steal and layup. Another steal gave them a chance to get even closer, but Clayton blocked a fast break shot attempt, and eventually Ohio pulled ahead again with a late 13-4 run.

Ohio got back-to-back 3-pointers from DeVon Baker and Brown to start the game and never trailed. An AJ Brown dunk pushed the advantage to double digits at 17-6 with 13:56 left in the first half.

With a 26-17 lead, the Bobcats used a 15-4 run to take their biggest lead, 41-21, on a Brown 3-pointer at the 5:21 mark.

Starting in place of Wilson, Gabe Wiznitzer had eight points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. Jaylin Hunter passed out seven assists to go with his six points.

Isaiah Range scored 26 points while playing every minute for the Hornets. Madlock added 11 points.

Alabama State finished at just 36.9% for the game, going 24 of 65, while Ohio was 28 of 61 (45.9%). Turnovers, with the Bobcats committing 11 to the Hornets’ nine, and offensive rebounds, with a 12-11 advantage for Ohio, were fairly even.

Ohio remains at home to host UC Clermont at 7 p.m. Wednesday at The Convo.