BUFFALO, N.Y. – Ohio had a big first half and took an 88-79 victory against Buffalo on Tuesday night at Alumni Arena.

Down 14-11, the Bobcats (8-6, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) used a 16-0 run to take control, going ahead 27-14 on a Shareef Mitchell free throw. Ohio eventually led 37-20 at halftime and pushed its lead to as big as 23 points early in the second half, coasting from there.

AJ Clayton had a huge night to lead the way with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Aidan Hadaway had 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Vic Searls scored 10 points off the bench.

Trailing 12-5 early, Ohio began to take over with a Searls bucket and then two from Hadaway. After a Buffalo basket, Ayden Evans’ fast-break dunk after a Mitchell steal sparked the Bobcats’ huge run.

Anquan Boldin Jr. dunked for the Bulls (5-9, 0-2 MAC) to stop the run, but the Bobcats finished the half strong with baskets from Searls and Elmore to go up by 17.

In the second half, a Jackson Paveletzke layup made it a 20-point game at 43-23, and a short time later, a Clayton free throw made it 58-35 with 13:31 to go. Ohio matched that margin on multiple occasions, including as late as with 5:40 left on a James 3-pointer that made it 75-52.

Buffalo finished the game on a 16-5 run to make the final score seem closer than it was.

Tyson Dunn paced the Bulls with 21 points and eight assists. Ben Michaels and Ryan Sabol both scored 15 points, while Boldin had 12 points.

Ohio, which shot 50.8%, got nine points from Janes and eight from AJ Brown.

After shooting just 29.4% in the first half, Buffalo rebounded to finish at 42.6% on the night.

The Bobcats have their first MAC home game at 1 p.m. Saturday against Northern Illinois in The Convo.