AKRON – Akron took control early and topped Ohio 92-80 in a battle of Mid-American Conference unbeatens on Friday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena.

The Zips (12-5, 5-0 MAC) took the lead for good at 6-5 in the first few minutes, led 44-29 at halftime and built a lead as big as 22 points in the second half.

Isaiah Gray scored 22 points, while Amani Lyles tallied 17 points and six assists. Nate Johnson posted 14 points and eight rebounds.

Shareef Mitchell’s career-high 27 points were not enough for the Bobcats (10-7,4 -1 MAC). AJ Brown added 15 points.

Seth Wilson put Akron ahead for good with a layup at the 17:28 mark in the first half after Brown’s two free throws gave Ohio a brief lead. The Bobcats stayed close for most of the first half, but a layup by Johnson and a 3-pointer by Gray pushed the advantage to 27-18 with 6:24 left.

A short time later, the Zips scored seven straight points, capped by a Johnson 3-pointer, to take a 36-20 lead.

The Bobcats got as close as 52-41 on a Mitchell 3-pointer early in the second half and trailed 66-54 on the third of three Clayton free throws with 9:41 left. The Zips followed with an 11-2 run to take a 77-56 lead and went up 83-61 with 6:11 to go.

Ohio had its best stretch of the night after that, cutting its deficit to 85-74 on a pair of Brown free throws with 3:29 left, but it could get no closer.

While the Bobcats shot just 34.4% on the night, the Zips finished at 51.5%. Ohio had 16 offensive rebounds, including five from Aidan Hadaway, who had a team-leading seven rebounds overall and nine points.

AJ Clayton, Jackson Paveletzke and Elijah Elliott scored eight points apiece.

Ohio looks to bounce back against Eastern Michigan at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Ypsilanti, Michigan.