ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Ohio rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to top UNC Asheville, 79-70, to close out non-conference play Saturday at Kimmel Arena.

Maurice Ndour scored 24 points and added 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks and Nick Kellogg scored 23 points and had nine boards for the Bobcats (10-3).

Andrew Rowsey had a career-high 28 points for the Bulldogs (6-8).

After trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, Ohio scored the first nine points of the second half to draw within three on an Ndour dunk at the 14:34 mark.

Rowsey drained a 3-pointer, but it did not deter the Bobcats’ momentum. They scored seven in a row, tying the game on a Travis Wilkins trey and then going up 47-46 with 12:14 remaining on an Antonio Campbell free throw.

After the teams traded the lead several times, the Bulldogs went up five on a David Robertson free throw that capped a 7-0 run with 6:58 to go.

After two Ndour free throws, Kellogg tied the game again with a triple and Stevie Taylor put the Bobcats on top for good with a 3-pointer. Jon Smith added a dunk to make it a five-point Ohio lead with five minutes left.

UNC Asheville closed to within one but Ohio got layups from Kellogg and T.J. Hall to go back up five with less than two minutes to play. The Bulldogs cut their deficit to three on three different occasions down the stretch only to have the Bobcats answer with two points.

Ohio went 8 of 8 at the line in the final 25 seconds to close out the victory. It finished 30 of 34 on free throw tries on the day.

After shooting just 38.5 percent in the first half, the Bobcats made 52.2 percent of their attempts in the second half. The Bulldogs were just 6 of 27 (22.2 percent) in the second half after finished at 32.2 percent for the game. They made 7 of 13 3-pointers before the break and 2 of 9 after.

Rowsey was 6 of 14 from deep after making five of his first six tries. UNC Asheville was good on six of its first eight tries from beyond the arc, with four of them by Rowsey, helping to build an early 30-15 lead.

Ricardo Johnson had to be helped off the court in the first half with an apparent leg injury and did not return.

Ohio opens Mid-American Conference play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Kent State.