ATHENS – Ohio made just one of its first 11 shots as Akron cruised to a 65-53 victory to spoil the Bobcats’ celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Convo on Saturday.

Ohio scored just three points in the first eight minutes, and although it rallied to within three, Akron led by as many as 26 points in the second half.

Jason Carter had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Ohio but no one else was in double figures. The rest of the Bobcats (11-10, 3-6 Mid-American Conference) combined to shoot 13 of 39 (33.3 percent) from the field.

"Tough night for us again offensively," Ohio coach Saul Phillips said. "We need more point production out of more people."

Jimond Ivey had 19 points and nine rebounds, Daniel Utomi scored 16 points, and Loren Cristian Jackson had 12 points for the Zips (13-8, 5-3 MAC).

Akron led 12-3 when Ohio finally made its second shot on a Carter layup with 11:31 left in the first half. Down 17-5, the Bobcats went on a 14-2 run to get within three, but the Zips pushed their advantage back up to 30-22 by the break.

The Bobcats were as close as 33-26 early in the second half before the Zips took over. They had an 11-0 run to take a 51-30 lead with 13:05 left, and the lead maxed out at 58-32 on a Ivey 3-pointer midway through the second half.

"We're playing tight and lacking confidence," Carter said. "I see that a little bit and we just have to get back to enjoying the game and enjoying that end of the floor. I just see a lot of guys lacking confidence and not taking shots that they should be and when one doesn't go in we're getting down and not taking ones that we should be.”

Ohio has a week off before facing Miami at 2 p.m. Saturday in Oxford.