ATHENS – Fifth-year guard Miles Brown provided a spark Tuesday night, scoring 13 of his 17 points in the first half to help the Bobcats build a lead and get a much-needed win 73-61 against Central Michigan at The Convo.

With AJ Brown out for the season with a shoulder injury, Ohio (8-9, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) added Elmore James to its injured list with a leg injury Saturday in a loss at Western Michigan. Miles Brown stepped into the starting lineup and delivered.

“Elmore is a huge part of this team,” Miles Brown said. “I think he led our team in rebounds and points. I knew it was going to be hard to pick up that slack, but all my teammates were supporting me and allowed me to be myself.”

Jaylin Hunter also broke out of a recent slump by scoring a game-high 19 points, though he was just 1 of 7 from long range, to go with eight assists and five rebounds. Shareef Mitchell added 13 points, and Aidan Hadaway had 11 points.

Anthony Pritchard had 15 points to lead the Chippewas, who were coming off of an upset win against Kent State. Aidan Rubio added 14 points, while Brian Taylor had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Miles Brown scored three straight Ohio baskets to help it take a 10-4 lead in the first six minutes. His 3-pointer midway through the first half made it 18-9.

After the Chippewas (8-9, 3-2 MAC) cut their deficit to four, the bobcats scored 13 straight points and never again allowed their advantage to fall below 10. Miles Brown scored with 5:10 left, making it 31-14.

“Miles Brown was awesome,” Ohio coach Jeff Boals said. “This was the healthiest he’s been all year, and he played like it tonight.”

After playing in the season opener, Miles Brown missed more than a month with an injury of his own and then set out another game just 10 days ago. He topped his previous season-high of 12 points against Defiance before halftime.

Ohio led 40-28 at halftime and answered every small Central Michigan run in the second half with one of its own. Central Michigan scored seven straight points to make it a 45-35 game with 17:45 remaining and got back to within 10 at 51-41 a few minutes later.

The Chippewas had multiple chances to cut the Bobcats’ lead to single digits later in the half and could not do it when both teams went cold. The score remained 65-55 for three and a half minutes before Hunter scored inside.

After shooting 53.3% in the first half, the Bobcats made just 39.3% of their attempts in the second half. It was plenty good enough, though, because the Chippewas were held to 40.4% shooting on the night.

Led by AJ Clayton with 10 rebounds, Ohio held a 38-31 advantage on the boards.

The Bobcats host Eastern Michigan at 4 p.m. Saturday at The Convo.