AKRON – Ohio led by double digits the entire second half and rolled past short-handed Akron, 66-50, on Saturday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena.

The Bobcats led 36-20 at halftime and never were challenged by the Zips, who had won four straight in the rivalry series.

Jon Smith posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Travis Wilkins went 3 of 3 on 3-pointers and scored 14 points and Nick Kellogg finished with 11 points for Ohio (19-8, 9-5 Mid-American Conference).

Demetrius Treadwell and Quincy Diggs each scored 13 points but combined to go 7 of 30 from the field. Deji Ibitayo also scored 13 points, but it was not nearly enough to replace the production of injured sharpshooters Reggie McAdams and Jake Kretzer and suspended forward Nick Harney.

The Zips (17-10, 9-5 MAC) shot just 27.3 percent from the field, and without Ibitayo’s 5-of-7 performance, they were at 20.4 percent. No one player for Akron came close to shooting 50 percent.

“Without McAdams and Kretzer, we were able to pack it in on the catches of Treadwell and (Isaiah) Johnson and (Pat) Forsythe more than you would normally, but you’ve still got to stop them,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “On the perimeter, we did a really good job of containing Diggs because he’s such a volatile scorer.”

Ohio, on the other hand, hit on 54.7 percent of its attempts, including better than 50 percent in both halves. Smith was 8 of 9 and Wilkins went 5 of 6.

After Isaiah Johnson gave Akron a 2-0 lead on a putback basket, Ohio ran off 14 in a row, beginning with a 3-pointer and a jumper by Kellogg. Kellogg added a steal for a layup during the surge, which was capped by a Treg Setty jumper that made it 14-2 seven minutes into the game.

Ibitayo finally ended the run with a 3-pointer, and later, after a Smith dunk, the Zips made their only real run of the game, scoring eight points in a row with another Ibitayo trey cutting Ohio’s lead to 18-16.

The Bobcats answered with another huge run in the final four and a half minutes of the half. Leading 23-19, Wilkins hit a jumper and Setty completed a three-point play.

A free throw by Ibitayo followed but was the only point for the Zips during the stretch. Smith scored inside, Wilkins hit a jumper, Smith scored following an offensive rebound and Javarez Willis had a steal and a layup in the closing seconds to cap a 13-1 run that gave Ohio a 36-20 lead.

Ohio held its biggest lead at 57-35 on a Maurice Ndour layup with 7:31 remaining.

“We showed quit, simple as that,” Akron coach Keith Dambrot said. “We didn’t even try defensively.”

Akron pounded the offensive boards, grabbing 18 of them, but it was good for only 15 points. Ohio’s six offensive rebounds produced 11 points. The Bobcats outscored the Zips 38-16 in the paint.

Diggs and Treadwell had nine rebounds each. Willis had a game-high six assists and three steals as he played 35 minutes with Stevie Taylor limited to five minutes because of a nagging injury. Also held back recently by an injury, T.J. Hall played 24 minutes but was 0 for 7 shooting.

Ohio can regain a share of first place in the MAC East with a win against Buffalo at 7 p.m. Wednesday at The Convo.