ATHENS – Miles Brown set a new career high of 27 points as Ohio thumped Central Michigan 96-68 on Saturday at The Convo.

Brown went 9 of 12 from the field, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and added five rebounds. He got plenty of help, with five teammates scoring eight or more points. Dwight Wilson and Jaylin Hunter had 12 each.

Ohio (10-9, 2-4 Mid-American Conference) shot 51.6% for the game and made 15 of 32 (46.9%) of its 3-point attempts. That helped them build a 52-31 lead by halftime.

Brian Taylor tallied 27 points to lead the Chippewas (7-12, 2-4 MAC). Markus Harding added 16 points.

The Bobcats scored the game’s first six points and never trailed. Their lead reached double digits at 15-4 on a Brown 3-pointer only five minutes into the game, and later in the half, they went on a 12-2 run to double up the Chippewas at 38-19 with 5:34 left.

A pair of AJ Brown free throws made it 46-23, and Ohio settled on a 21-point halftime lead on an Elmore James jumper.

The lead grew to 63-36 on an AJ Brown 3-pointer early in the second half, and the closest Central Michigan got after that was 67-47 with 9:47 to play. Ohio’s biggest lead came in the final minute on a 3-pointer by walk-on Quinn Corna.

Not only did Ohio shoot the ball better in every way than Central Michigan, it also had a 38-32 rebounding advantage and fewer turnovers, 15-9.

Miles Brown’s big game came after he scored just three points while playing only 14 minutes because of foul trouble in a loss to Toledo. His previous career high was 24 points in the MAC opener at Buffalo, but he had not scored more than 12 since.

AJ Brown finished with 11 points, while James scored nine points and DeVon Baker eight points. Wilson led the team with eight rebounds and Baker with four steals.

Ohio hosts Western Michigan at 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Convo.