ATHENS - Ohio rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit and then hung on after Akron nearly came back from 10 down with less than two minutes remaining, beating the Zips 83-82 on Wednesday night at The Convo.

The Bobcats (8-12, 3-6 Mid-American Conference) outscored the Zips 29-8 during a 10-minute span, going up 81-71 on a fast-break layup by Javarez Willis. Nyles Evans began Akron's comeback effort with a layup with 1:39 remaining, and after a steal, Aaron Jackson cut the 10-point lead in half with a 3-pointer.

Stevie Taylor split two free throws for Ohio before a Reggie McAdams trey made it a one-possession game with still 44 seconds left. After a Bobcats turnover, Jackson missed from deep, and Taylor hit a free throw with 15 seconds to push the Bobcats' lead to 83-79.

Jake Kretzer made it a one-point game with a 3-pointer with eight seconds to go, and one more turnover gave the Zips (15-7, 6-3 MAC) a chance to win, but Deji Ibitayo was off the mark at the buzzer.

It has been a hot-and-cold season for Willis, and he was on fire against the Zips, making 12-of-18 shots, including 6-of-8 3-pointers while scoring a game-high 31 points. Maurice Ndour had 16 points, and Antonio Campbell had all 11 of his points in the second half. The big men were a combined 4-of-5 on 3-pointers.

Ibitayo was nearly as sharp as Willis, leading the Zips with 21 points while going 8-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-7 on 3-pointers. Pat Forsythe and Noah Robotham had 11 points each.

Much of the early part of the first half was tight, but Akron began to take control, going up by as much as 11 at 43-32 on a B.J. Gladden 3-pointer with 3:49 remaining in the half. The Zips took a 47-37 advantage into the locker room.

A pair of Antonio Campbell free throws got Ohio within two in the four minutes of the second half, but Akron pushed its lead back out to 63-52 on a Robotham 3-pointer with 12:30 to go.

For the next 10 minutes, though, it was all Bobcats, and especially Willis, who began the stretch with a jumper. He had back-to-back 3-pointers and scored a layup that got Ohio within three at the 8:30 mark.

After a Ibitayo 3-pointer, Willis went back-to-back on 3-pointers again, tying the game at 69. He then added a layup and free throw to give him 19 points in a span of barely more than six minutes.

Ohio shot 51.9 percent for the game, including 11-of-18 from long range, and made 16-of-24 free throws. Akron missed all six of its free-throw attempts but was 18-of-36 on 3-pointers.

The Bobcats host Eastern Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday.