Jadi Cunningham Jr. scores 21 as Men's Basketball falls in 100-90 overtime shootout at Capital

BEXLEY — Sophmore Jadi Cunningham Jr. (Columbus/Westerville South) scored 21 points as the Ohio Northern men's basketball team lost 100-90 in an overtime battle at Capital on Saturday afternoon. 

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (6-3 Overall, 1-2 OAC), Capital (4-5 Overall, 1-2 OAC).
• Venue: The Capital Center- Bexley, Ohio.

The Game

• Cunningham Jr. led the Polar Bears with 21 points, had 6 assists and had 7 rebounds as well. 
• Sophomore Carter Reese (Columbus/Westerville North) added 16 points and had 4 boards as well as 4 assists. 
• Junior Will Miller (Ottoville) added 15 points.
• Sophomore Theo Maag (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) also added 12 points and brought in 4 boards. 
• Darryl Cooper and Alex Eyink led the Comets with 18 points each.
• After a back and forth battle to start the game, Northern and Capital would trade runs until ONU would grab a 43-38 lead off a junior Bryce Stuart (Lucasville/Valley) dunk to beat the halftime buzzer.
• Capital would go on a 12-0 run at the 13:01 mark to take a 70-58 lead.
• Northern would come storming back with a 17-3 run of their own to retake the lead at 75-73.
• Northern would have the lead until a made layup by Alex Eyink after an Ohio Northern offensive foul would tie the game 84-84 with 4 seconds left. 
• ONU would have a chance to win the game on the last possession, but could not get a clean look at the rim.
• A 10-0 by Capital with 3:01 left would push the game out of reach for Ohio Northern.
• Ohio Northern was 35-of-71 from the floor for 49.3 percent and made 9-19 three-pointers for 47.4 percent, while Capital finished 34-of-57 from the field for 59.6 percent and 12-of-22 from three-point range for 54.5 percent.
• ONU made 11-of-19 free throws for 57.9 percent and CU was 20-of-29 from the foul line for 69.0 percent.
• The Polar Bears out rebounded the Comets 39-25.

Notables

• Northern is now ranked first in the conference in steals per game at 9.9. Three Polar Bears are ranked in the top ten in total steals as well. 
• Cunningham Jr. is first in the conference in assists as well as steals and field goal percentage. 
• Ohio Northern continues its 114th season of varsity men's basketball and has a record of 1377-1079, a winning percentage of .560.
• Head coach Neal Young is in his third season at Ohio Northern with a 29-30 record.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will return home to face Kalimazoo (Mich.) on Monday December 30th at 6 p.m.