YPSILANTI, Mich. – Javarez Willis hit the go-ahead 3-pointer and Ohio finished on a 12-1 run to rally in a game it trailed nearly the entire way, winning 58-56 on Saturday at Eastern Michigan.

The Bobcats trailed 55-46 with four minutes remaining but surrendered just a free throw to overcome a difficult shooting game against the Eagles’ zone defense.

While Ohio’s point guards have struggled offensively, Willis and Stevie Taylor led the way against Eastern Michigan. Willis’ 3-pointer with 27 seconds left gave him 12 points for the game and gave the Bobcats a 58-55 lead. Taylor fouled out with almost five minutes remaining but led the way with 14 points. Nick Kellogg also scored 12 points.

Taylor and Willis, who came in shooting a combined 26.9 percent on 3-pointers, went 7 of 13 from beyond the arc while the rest of the team made just 3 of 15. Overall, Ohio (14-5, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) was 20 of 60 from the field, but Eastern Michigan, which scored the game’s first nine points, was no better at 19 of 55, including just 2 of 10 on 3-point attempts.

Glenn Bryant scored 14 points and Karrington Ward had 13 for the Eagles (11-8, 3-3 MAC).

Jon Smith scored with 3:53 remaining to get Ohio within seven, and after a missed Eastern Michigan free throw and Maurice Ndour’s 14th rebound, Smith tallied his only other points of the games on a foul-line jumper.

Travis Wilkins stole Eastern Michigan’s inbounds pass around midcourt and assisted on a Kellogg 3-pointer to get Ohio within two. After a miss by the Eagles, Wilkins recorded his fourth assist by getting the ball to Ndour for a short jumper to tie the game at 55 with 1:36 remaining.

Another missed Eagles 3-pointer gave the Bobcats a chance at their first lead of the game and they got it with a Willis 3-pointer. Ndour fouled Ward with nine seconds left and he made the first before missing the second. The Eagles tracked down the offensive rebound but had a toe on the out-of-bounds line, giving possession back to the Bobcats.

With only four team fouls, Eastern Michigan lost time with two fouls before the third on T.J. Hall finally resulted in the bonus. Hall, who struggled with an 0-for-12 shooting game, missed on the front end of a one-and-one with three seconds left, giving the Eagles a chance but a wild shot came after the buzzer and was off the mark anyway.

Ohio did not score until more than four minutes into the game when Willis connected from long range. A Bryant dunk gave the Eagles a 20-9 lead with 8:40 left in the half, but Taylor hit consecutive 3-pointers to keep the Bobcats in the game. He was tagged with a technical foul on the second, though, for taunting the Eastern Michigan bench.

Anthony Strickland hit a jumper that pushed the Eagles’ lead back to 11 and they took an eight-point advantage into the locker room.

The Eagles held a 12-point lead on a Bryant tip-in and then later on a Raven Lee free throw at the 13:47 and 11:30 marks, respectively. The biggest lead was 51-38 with 7:45 to go on a Ward free throw.

Willis and Taylor hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help Ohio stay in the game, but it still trailed by nine on Ward’s jumper at the 4:09 mark.

In a game with so many misses, there were plenty of rebounds and the Bobcats held a slight 45-42 edge on the boards, including a 15-12 edge on the offensive end. Smith and Ward had 10 rebounds each. Ohio had one more turnover, 10-9.

Eastern Michigan’s zone defense limited Ohio to 14 points in the paint. The Eagles had 28 points inside.

The Bobcats improved to 3-0 in MAC road games while the Eagles lost their second straight game at home.

Ohio hosts Central Michigan at 7 p.m. Wednesday.