A second-half surge from Ohio led to men’s basketballs’ demise on Saturday night at the Convocation Center as it fell 65-46.

The Huskies (7-9, 1-3 MAC) went into halftime with a one-point lead, up 24-23, despite shooting 33 percent compared to the Bobcats’ (13-4, 3-1 MAC) 50 percent in the first half.

“I thought it was an evenly-played game in the first half,” said coach Mark Montgomery. “I thought we came out and jumped on them; we had a seven-point lead. They are a very good team. I told our guys before the game that it was going to be a game of runs. We still withstood their run and had a one-point lead.”

In the second half, it was all Bobcats. They came out of the locker room and went on a 16-4 run to take a 39-28 lead.

Ohio never looked back from there, as it shot 53 percent from the field and outscored the Huskies 42-22 in the second half.

“It seemed like we were a step slow in the second half,” Montgomery said. “You have to credit OU, they made some tough shots, they got out in transition, and then we just didn’t have enough gas in us to get the second stops or make some baskets. I thought we had some good shots, but unfortunately the ball didn’t go in tonight.”

The difference in the second half was the Bobcats three-point shooting. They hit seven three-pointers and shot 50 percent from behind the arc. They were led by guard Nick Kellogg who went four of five from behind the arc and guard Javarez Willis, who hit three three-pointers in the game.

“A couple times we had a good high hand up, but Nick Kellogg made some deep threes, and you have to kind of credit them,” Montgomery said. “They take tough shots, but they made them.”

The Huskies came out strong in the first half. At one point they led 14-7 following a 13-2 run. Guard Aaron Armstead played well during that stretch, scoring seven points early.

After the Bobcats cut the Huskies lead to 15-14, guard Travon Baker scored six quick points, with a three-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Huskies a 21-16 lead.

Baker and Armstead were bright spots for the Huskies offensively as they each scored 12 points in the loss, while forward Aksel Bolin added seven points.