ATHENS - Ohio stayed close throughout, but Toledo used a 14-3 run midway through the second half to get separation and held off the Bobcats, 80-73, on Wednesday night at The Convo.

Toledo made 18-of-22 free throws in the game to hold off Ohio after it got as close as five in the final minute. J.D. Weatherspoon paced the Rockets (10-6, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Juice Brown scored 16 points and had five assists, and Justin Drummond and Nathan Boothe scored 12 points each.

Javarez Willis showed signs of coming out of a recent slump with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, and Maurice Ndour had 16 points and a team-best seven rebounds for Ohio (5-9, 0-3 MAC).

The Bobcats gained a 49-48 advantage on a Stevie Taylor jumper with 13:16 remaining, but Jordan Lauf and Brown responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Rockets up for good. Khari Harley's basket at the midway point of the second half got Ohio within four, but Lauf had two more baskets with a Brown jumper in between, making it 62-52 with 8:09 to go.

Toledo never led by more than 10, but the closest Ohio got was five on a Willis layup with 24 seconds remaining.

Ohio had a 10-0 run early in the game, taking a 12-4 lead on an Antonio Campbell 3-pointer five minutes in. Quickly, Boothe helped erase the deficit, hitting a jumper and then a 3-pointer. Kurt Hall's three-point play eventually tied the game at 16 at the 10:29 mark, and after an Ndour dunk gave the Bobcats a 25-22 advantage with 6:57 to go, Weatherspoon and Jonathan Williams combined for every point in a 9-0 Toledo run.

Taylor and Mike Laster hit consecutive 3-pointers to draw Ohio within one, but Toledo close the half on a 7-2 run to take a 41-35 advantage at the break.

After trailing by eight at the 17:09 mark, the Bobcats used a 12-3 run to take their only lead of the second half. Treg Setty scored back-to-back baskets, and after a Juice Brown layup, Taylor drained a 3 to get Ohio within three.

Zach Garber split two free throws, before Willis connected from deep and Taylor hit the jumper that put Ohio on top 49-48.

After struggling offensively the first two games of MAC play, Ohio shot 50 percent, compared to 43.9 percent by Toledo. The Rockets, though, made nine more free throws as the Bobcats were 9-of-14, and got 10 more field goal attempts with advantage of 11-6 in turnovers and 14-9 in offensive rebounds.

Ohio also was hurt by foul trouble. Setty had six points and six rebounds in 22 minutes before his fifth foul, and Campbell had nine points and four boards in 18 minutes, finishing with four fouls, including a technical. Taylor, who had nine points and five assists, and Ndour both finished with four fouls. Weatherspoon (three fouls) and Booth (two) were the only Toledo players called for more than one foul.

The Bobcats will continue to seek their first MAC win when take on Kent State at 7 p.m. Saturday at the MAC Center.