BUFFALO, N.Y. – AJ Clayton knocked down a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored a career-best 23 points, a total matched by Shareef Mitchell, as Ohio stayed hot with its fifth straight win, 78-66, against Buffalo on Tuesday night at Alumni Arena.

Mitchell came up a point shy of his best mark of 24 points. The two carried the load as the only Ohio players in double digits.

The Bobcats (18-12, 12-5 Mid-American Conference) scored the first nine points of the game on a 3-pointer by Aidan Hadaway and then two by Clayton. The Bulls (4-26, 2-15 MAC) got as close as 16-14 on two Jonnivius Smith free throws, but this time it was a Miles Brown three-point play and a long-distance shot by Ike Cornish that gave Ohio separation again.

Elmore James added a layup to make it a double-digit game, and another Clayton 3-pointer put the score at 28-16. Shareef Mitchell made a jumper later in the half to push the advantage to 13 points, but the Bulls were able to get to within five at one point before a Mitchell layup made it 40-33 at halftime.

The Bobcats ultimately put the game away with a quick start to the second half. They moved in front 55-38 on a pair of Cornish free throws at the 15:45 mark. Buffalo scored the next 10 points and made another run late that got it as close as 63-57 with 6:22 left, but each time Ohio responded.

Jaylin Hunter struggled from the field for a second straight game, going 2 of 11, including 0 of 5 from long range, while scoring just four points. He had five assists and four rebounds.

Miles Brown scored eight points. Hadaway and Cornish finished with seven points each.

Sy Chatman had a game-high 25 points and added eight rebounds to lead the Bulls. Smith scored 10 points.

The big difference in the game was the Bobcats making 14 3-pointers on 33 attempts, whereas the Bulls were just 6 of 19.

With one game left in MAC play, Ohio is in third place, one game behind co-leaders Akron and Toledo.

The Bobcats wrap up their regular season against Miami at 7 p.m. Friday on the road.