C.J. Napier, Brandon Waugh lead Men’s Basketball over Olivet (Mich.)

By Wes Mayberry

WESTERVILLE — The Ohio Northern men's basketball team made 11 3-pointers to spark a 78-59 rout of Olivet (Mich.) on Thursday evening in the second and final day of the Smokey Ballenger Classic at the Rike Center at Otterbein University.

The Polar Bears improve to 8-3 overall while dropping the Comets to 3-7.

Junior C.J. Napier (Miamisburg/Bishop Fenwick) led the way for ONU with 19 points, nine rebounds and two steals.

Senior Brandon Waugh (Columbus/Northland), who was named to the event's All-Tournament Team, posted a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds to go with four assists, three steals and two blocks. He shot 5-of-10 from 3-point range.

Freshman Ethan Bell (Marion/River Valley) was 3-for-4 on 3-pointers and finished with 11 points to match his career high. He added three rebounds and two assists to his stat line.

Juniors Adam Scott (Wapakoneta) and Grant Heileman (Millersport/Sheridan) added eight points each for ONU.

Freshman Lorris Upshaw and senior Tevin Ali scored 19 and 11 points, respectively, to lead the way for Olivet.

Northern jumped out to an early 16-6 lead sparked by eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, from Waugh.

A Waugh triple put ONU up 31-15 with 9:17 left in the opening half, and the lead grew to as much as 19, 38-19, on a 3-pointer from Bell with 6:38 remaining.

Waugh (5-for-7) and Bell (3-for-3) combined to go 8-for-10 from 3-point range in the first half as the Polar Bears went into halftime with a 45-28 lead.

Northern continued to maintain control of the game throughout the second half.

The Polar Bears' lead grew to as much as 25, 75-50, on a jumper from Markus Malleschitz (Maria Lanzendorf, Austria/Oak Hill Academy) with 1:23 left in the game.

Ohio Northern made 30-of-58 field goals for 51.7% and was 11-of-23 from 3-point range for 47.8%, while the Comets made 24-of-67 field goals for 35.8% and were 2-of-14 from beyond the arc for 14.3%.

The Polar Bears were 7-of-16 from the foul line for 43.8% while Olivet was 9-of-11 for 81.8%.

Olivet out-rebounded ONU by a 37-33 margin.

The Polar Bears return to the court on Wednesday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. at Ohio Athletic Conference foe Otterbein.