A matchup of two of the Mid-American Conference’s top players never materialized on Wednesday night, and that didn’t bode well for Eastern Michigan.

Ohio and MAC preseason Player of the Year D.J. Cooper ran away with a 79-65 win in Athens, Ohio, taking control early while the Eagles’ Brandon Bowdry spent most of the first half on the bench in foul trouble.

Bowdry played only seven minutes of the first half, matching two quick fouls with two points and two rebounds as Ohio took a 45-29 halftime lead. The MAC’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer finished with eight points and five rebounds.

Immediately after Bowdry’s second foul, Ohio went on a 6-0 run to take a 16-10 lead that it would continue to expand while the 6-foot-6 senior forward watched from the sideline.

The Bobcats then started to second half with nine straight points to end any thought of an Eastern Michigan comeback.

Cooper finished with 12 points, well below his 18.0 average, but the rest of the Bobcats more than made up for it. Ohio (9-11, 2-4 MAC East) shot better than 54 percent (27 of 50) from the floor and made 7 of 12 shots from 3-point range.

DeVaughn Washington had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats, who led by as many as 28 points in the second half.

Derek Thompson scored 13 points, including a 3-of-5 effort from 3-point range, for Eastern (5-13, 2-3 MAC West).

Women's basketball

The Eastern Michigan women’s basketball team could have called it a night at halftime.

The Eagles’ 47 first-half points were enough to clinch a Mid-American Conference crossover win over visiting Ohio on Wednesday. After the mandatory second half, they wrapped up an 85-40 victory.

Eastern shot a blistering 71 percent (22 of 31) from the floor in the first half.

All 13 players on the Eastern Michigan (14-7, 5-2 MAC West) roster scored, led by 14 point from Sydney Huntley. Starting point guard Tavelyn James added 12 points in just 18 minutes of play.

Alesia Howard scored 13 for Ohio (6-14, 2-5 MAC East).

The Eagles led 47-19 at halftime and extended their advantage to 40 points (65-25) on a pair of Desyree Thomas free throws with 12:57 left in the first half.