COLUMBUS, Ohio – Trailing by as many as 24 points in the first half, Ohio Dominican's men's basketball team staged a furious comeback to grab a second half lead, but visiting Northern Michigan recovered to score an 82-72 victory Thursday at Alumni Hall in GLIAC action.

Sophomore guard Morgan Jones (Oberlin, Ohio) had career-highs in points (22), assists (seven) and steals (six) to lead Ohio Dominican back into the ballgame. After Zack Joseph (Lewis Center, Ohio) buried a three-pointer to cut Northern Michigan's lead to 17-12 with 10:35 to play in the first half, the Wildcats (6-5, 1-3 GLIAC) hit their next nine shots from the field and scored 19 unanswered points over the next 5:18, building a 36-12 advantage.

Jones took command of the final few minutes, however, coming up with a steal and hitting a jumper in the paint. Then, after a steal by Aaron Gibbs (Oberlin, Ohio) near midcourt, Jones raced up the floor and tossed a perfect alley-oop to Jake Mochoskay (Mansfield, Ohio), who dunked with two hands and drew a foul. Two more steals by Jones led to his own layups and brought the Panthers (2-9, 0-6 GLIAC) to within 36-21 with 4:15 to go, as the sophomore scored or assisted on nine points in a 30 second stretch.

Overall, it was part of a 20-4 run by ODU to bring the Panthers within eight before half, though the Wildcats sank two buckets in the final 26 seconds and led 44-32 at intermission after shooting 72 percent from the field (18-of-25). Jones, though, had 17 points, five steals and three assists at the break to keep ODU in it.

The intensity picked up in a second half that featured a pair of ties and six lead changes. NMU led by as many as 13 points early in the frame before the Panthers stormed back, with three-pointers by junior guard Kip Kelley (Raleigh, N.C.), Mochoskay and Joseph cutting into the deficit before a Gibbs layup tied it at 55 with 11:11 left.

The lead seesawed back and forth over the ensuing moments, with triples from Mochoskay and Joseph helping put ODU in front, and a layin by junior center Zak Kapron (Malvern, Ohio) gave the Panthers their biggest lead at 68-64 with 6:07 to go.

That would be ODU's last lead, however, as the Wildcats rattled off the next 10 points to surge in front 74-68. Ohio Dominican would draw as close as four points but could not complete the comeback.

In addition to Jones, Mochoskay scored in double figures as he came off the bench to contribute 13 points. Gibbs had nine points and a game-high six rebounds, and Joseph tied a career-high with nine points off the bench, sticking a trio of three-pointers.

The Panthers return to action at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 6 for another GLIAC contest against nationally ranked Hillsdale in Alumni Hall.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu