YPSILANTI, Mich. – Short-handed Ohio got a 21-point second-half deficit down to five but came up short in a 94-87 loss to Eastern Michigan on Tuesday night at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.

Aidan Hadaway did not travel with the team because of an ankle injury suffered against Akron, and the Bobcats recently announced Elmore James had stepped away from the team. AJ Clayton scored only three points in 11 minutes in the first half Tuesday and did not play in the second half.

Jackson Paveletzke nearly willed the Bobcats (10-8, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) to a comeback victory with 28 points and six rebounds, but it was not enough. Shareef Mitchell, AJ Brown and Vic Searls scored 14 points apiece.

The Eagles (9-9, 3-3 MAC) held their biggest lead of 65-44 on a Jalen Terry 3-pointer with 15:21 left, and their advantage was 20 at 72-52 on a pair of Yusuf Jihad free throws with 10:39 left.

Down 88-72 with 3:30 left, Ohio scored 11 straight points, taking advantage of effective pressure defense. Paveletzke scored a layup, and after a turnover, Searls added one of his own.

After two more turnovers, both Ajay Sheldon and Mitchell missed 3-pointers that could have made it an even closer game, and with 1:51 left, Paveletzke scored in the paint after yet another Eastern Michigan giveaway to make it a 10-point game with 1:51 left.

Mitchell had a steal and a layup, and after the Eagles ended their streak of five straight turnovers, Arne Osojnik missed a 3-pointer. Mitchell hit one on the other end, and it was 88-83 with 51 seconds still to play.

Jalen Terry made two free throws, and Sheldon had a shot to make it a four-point game, but his miss from deep was off the mark. Christian Henry made two more foul shots, and the Eagles were able to hold on.

De’Sean Nelson led Eastern Michigan in its second straight win by scoring 21 points with seven rebounds and six assists. Christian Henry had 18 points, Terry 17 points and Godslove Nwabude 16 points.

Eastern Michigan took the lead for good at 10-7 on a Nelson 3-pointer in the first four minutes. They gradually added to their lead throughout the first half, going up 30-20 with 8:34 left on a Terry steal and layup. The Eagles had a 7-0 run shortly before halftime and took a 48-31 advantage on another Terry layup and led 50-35 at the break.

An Elijah Elliott 3-pointer got Ohio as close as 54-42 in the early part of the second half, but another 7-0 run pushed the Eastern Michigan lead to 21 points.

Outside of forcing turnovers, the Bobcats struggled to get stops. The Eagles shot 60.3% for the game, including 58.8% (10 of 17) on 3-pointers, and made 14 of 17 free throws.

Ohio was pretty good offensively overall, making 53.2% of its shots, but it was not especially sharp from long range, going 6-for-23 (26.1%). Sheldon, who shot 46.3% on 3-pointers last year, continued to struggle with his shot this season, going 0-for-4 to drop his accuracy this year to 32.3%. He is 4 of 21 in his last six games.

Elliott scored 10 points and had five assists.

Not surprisingly considering the size absent from the lineup, the Bobcats were outrebounded 33-24.

Ohio’s challenge stretch of schedule continues with Kent State visiting The Convo at 7 p.m. Friday on ESPNU.