The 15-minute halftime break did wonders for the Ohio Northern men's basketball team Friday night at Denison. The Polar Bears opened the second half on a big scoring run and turned a deficit into a double-digit lead en route to an 80-70 victory.
The win pushed Northern to 2-1 on the season, while the loss dropped the Big Red to 0-2 on the year.
C.J. Napier (Miamisburg/Bishop Fenwick) led the way for ONU with a game-high 27 points. He scored in every which way, going 8-for-15 from the floor, 1-for-3 from 3-point land and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line. He also added six rebounds and two assists.
Freshman Landen Long (Mason) was the other Polar Bear in double figures. He tallied 16 points, which included a quartet of 3s. Freshman Aaron Good (Wapakoneta) added nine points, while sophomore Brandon Waugh (Columbus/Northland) and freshman Michael Berner (Springboro) chipped in eight points apiece.
Northern shot 50 percent from the floor (25 of 50) and 44.4 percent (8-for-18) from deep. Denison hit just 38.7 percent (24-for-62) of its field-goal attempts and 22.7 percent (5-for-22) of its 3-point shots.
The first half was played in close quarters. Neither team led by more than six points, as the Big Red held a slight 35-34 advantage at the break.
The Polar Bears scored the first seven points of the second half. That was part of a larger 13-2 run that gave ONU its first double-digit lead at 47-37 with 16:23 to play in the game.
Northern kept Denison at arm's length, extending its lead to as large as 14. The Big Red battled back and pulled within five at 3:16 mark, but never drew closer.
The Polar Bears have more than a week off before traveling to Division I Purdue Fort Wayne Nov. 24.
