Napier's double-double leads Men's Basketball to thrilling 90-88 overtime win at Buffalo State (N.Y.)
By Tim Glon
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Junior C.J. Napier (Miamisburg/Bishop Fenwick) had a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead Ohio Northern men's basketball team to a thrilling 90-88 overtime victory at Buffalo State (N.Y.) in the first day of the Buffalo State Classic at the Sports Arena.
The Polar Bears (3-1) had five players score in double figures, led by Napier's 23 points. Junior Landen Long (Mason) scored 18 points, Adam Scott (Wapkaoneta) added 17 points, senior Brandon Waugh (Columbus/Northland) scored 14 points and junior Michael Berner (Springboro) chipped in 10.
Northern withstood an impressive 39-point performance by Sheldon Adams and a 27-point performance by Adam Davis for the Bengals (0-2).
A layup by Scott gave ONU an 88-83 lead with 1:47 left in overtime. BSC got within 88-85, but a layup by Berner with 11 seconds left made it 90-85 and iced the game for the Polar Bears.
Both teams had chances to win the game in regulation. Leading 80-79, Waugh had two free throws with 12 seconds left but missed them both, keeping the score at 80-79.
Davis got fouled with six seconds left and made his first free throw to tie the game at 80-all, but missed his second attempt. Philbert Weekes grabbed one of his game-high 21 rebounds but missed a shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
BSC used a 19-2 run to jump out to a 25-13 lead midway through the first half, but ONU battled back to within 44-39 by intermission.
Waugh nailed two free throws with 3:47 left to give ONU a 75-74 lead.
Ohio Northern made 36-of-72 field goals for 50.0 percent and was 3-of-16 from 3-point range for 18.8 percent. Buffalo State was 29-of-70 from the floor for 41.4 percent and was 9-of-22 from beyond the arc for 40.9 percent.
Each team had 44 rebounds.
Northern will conclude tournament play on Saturday with a 2 pm contest against Medaille (N.Y.)