Late free throw lifts Muskingum past Ohio Northern 61-60

Jan. 16, 2008

By Zach Stipe

NEW CONCORD — Brandon Todd’s free throw with three seconds left in the game lifted Muskingum past the Ohio Northern men’s basketball team 61-60 on Wednesday night at the Muskingum Recreation Center.

With the win, the Muskies improve to 9-3 overall and 5-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The loss drops the Polar Bears to 9-6 overall and 5-3 in the OAC.

Junior Jake Cannan recorded his fourth double-double of the season as he scored 13 points and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.

Sophomore Kyle Meyer led ONU in scoring with 16 points, while junior Kurtis Brown dished out a team-high four assists.

Todd led Muskingum in scoring with 18 points, while Tyler Felt and Trevor Scott scored 17 and 13, respectively.

The score was tied 10 times in the game and the largest lead either team had was five points.

ONU took a 56-52 lead with 2:25 left in the game after Cannan hit a free throw.

But Tyler Felt hit a jumper and then 3-pointer to give the Muskies a 57-56 lead with 48 seconds to play.

Meyer snatched the lead back for ONU by making a jumper off an assist from sophomore Ezra Bradshaw with 30 seconds to play.

Todd was fouled while making a lay-up with 18 seconds to play and made his free throw to give the Muskies a 60-58 lead with 18 seconds remaining.

Cannan answered with a layup with 10 seconds left, but Todd was fouled while rebounding his own miss with three seconds left in the game. Todd split his pair of free throws to give Muskingum the 1-point victory.

Muskingum’s biggest lead came at the 11:37 mark in the first half after Scott hit a jumper to make the score 43-38.

Northern answered by going on a 7-0 run to take a 45-43 lead after Meyer made his third straight shot with 8:18 left in the game.

Senior Mark Pratt’s layup with with 5:07 left in the first half gave Northern a 24-20 lead.

However Scott hit a 3-pointer and made a free throw in the last minute before the intermission to give the Muskies a 33-30 halftime lead.
The Polar Bears held a 36-31 rebounding advantage and a 14-12 edge in assists.

ONU shot 41.7 percent (20-of-48) overall and 27.3 percent (3-of-11) on 3-poiners.
Muskingum shot 36.2 percent (21-58) overall and 22.2 percent (4-of-18) on 3-pointers.

Ohio Northern returns to action this Saturday when it travels to Alliance for a 3 p.m. game against Mount Union. The Polar Bears don’t return home until they host Heidelberg at the ONU Sports Center on Jan. 30.