Men's Basketball extends win streak to four games with 90-82 overtime victory at Muskingum

ADA — The Ohio Northern men's basketball team defeated Muskingum 90-82 in overtime on Saturday afternoon for its fourth straight victory.

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (7-6 overall, 2-4 OAC), Muskingum (4-9 overall, 0-6 OAC)
• Venue: Steele Center - New Concord, Ohio

The Game

• Four Polar Bears scored in double figures led by 20 points from freshman Carter Reese (Westerville/North), who made 4-of-7 3-point attempts.
• Sophomore Will Miller (Ottoville) added 18 points to go with 16 from freshman Cayden Jacoby (Pettisville).
• Freshman Jadi Cunningham Jr. (Columbus/Westerville South) approached a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
• Duane Davis and Owen Emig led the Muskies in scoring with 23 and 21 points, respectively.
• The Polar Bears built a 25-19 lead with 9:28 left in the first half, but MU responded to take a 35-31 edge with 2:48 remaining.
• Reese answered with a 4-point play to tie the score with 1:36 left, and the teams entered halftime tied at 39-all.
• The second half was just as tightly contested, as neither team led by more than five points.
• ONU gained a five-point edge, 71-66, on a layup from Jacoby with 5:44 left, and a layup from Miller put ONU up 78-75 with just 37 seconds remaining in regulation.
• An and-1 from Davis tied the score at 78-all with 24 seconds left, eventually sending the game to overtime.
• The Muskies made the first basket of the overtime period but were outscored 12-4 in the frame.
• Sophomore Hayden Hanson (Cedarville) made a 3-pointer to give ONU an 81-80 lead with 4:23 left, and the Polar Bears led the rest of the way.
• Ohio Northern made 34-of-65 field goal attempts for 52.3% and was 11-of-24 from 3-point range for 45.8%.
• Muskingum was 29-of-60 shooting for 48.3% and was 4-of-19 on 3-pointers for 21.1%.
• ONU was 11-of-17 from the foul line for 64.7%, and MU was 20-of-26 for 76.9%.
• Ohio Northern out-rebounded Muskingum by a 37-33 margin.

Notables

• The Polar Bears' current win streak includes victories over Ursinus (Pa.), Olivet (Mich.), Otterbein and Muskingum.
• This marked ONU's second overtime game of the season, as the Polar Bears fell 103-102 in double overtime at Marietta on Dec. 16.
• Cunningham Jr.'s 11 rebounds marked a single-game career high.
• Cunningham Jr. recorded his second career double-double of the season on Saturday. He tallied an 11-point, 10-assist double-double on Dec. 16 against Marietta.
• This marked the fifth time in the last seven games that Reese has scored 20 or more points.
• Ohio Northern now leads the all-time series with Muskingum by a 76-50 margin, including a 28-25 mark in New Concord. The Polar Bears have now won four straight against the Muskies.
• Ohio Northern is playing its 113th season of varsity men's basketball and has a record of 1365-1071, a winning percentage of .560.
• Head coach Neal Young is in his second season at Ohio Northern with a 17-21 record.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears return to action on Wednesday hosting OAC foe Baldwin Wallace at 7 p.m.