Ohio Northern men's basketball team falls to John Carroll 97-78

By Caleb Scott

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS - The Ohio Northern Men's Basketball team fell to John Carroll 97-78 Wednesday night at the DeCarlo Varsity Center.

The Polar Bears fall to 5-2 on the year and 1-2 in Ohio Athletic Conference action, while the Blue Streaks improve to 4-1, 3-0.

Sophomore Konnor Baker led the way for Northern, scoring a game-high 22 points and pulling down a team-high five rebounds. 

Seniors Lucas Pennington and Jordan Martin chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively. 

John Carroll was led by Jake Hollinger, who finished with 20 points on the night. 

After multiple lead changes in the first half, John Carroll broke a 39-39 tie with a 10-0 run, which pushed the Blue Streak lead to 49-39 with 2:29 remaining in the first half. 

Northern would bounce back after back-to-back three pointers by Baker spurred a 9-0 run to end the first half.

After the break JCU wasted no time, going on a 14-0 run to open the second half and pushed their lead to 63-48 with 16:31 remaining in the contest.

Ohio Northern would fight back to within 13 points, but couldn't manage to get any closer as the Blue Streaks went on to win 97-78. 

JCU won the rebounding battle on the night, edging the Polar Bears 43-34. 

Ohio Northern shot 41.2 percent from the field on 28-of-68 shooting, while JCU shot 55.9 percent from the field on 38-of-68 shooting. 

The Polar Bears will return to action Saturday as they play host to Capital at 3 pm.