COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Dominican turned around a six-point halftime deficit into a 91-87 G-MAC victory over the Yellow Jackets at Alumni Hall.
The outcome spoiled
Sam Johnson's fourth career double-double and first this season.
The sophomore, who was playing near his hometown of Worthington, muscled in 24 points with 11 rebounds for Cedarville, 9-12 overall and 4-9 G-MAC.
Anthony Ruffolo and
Ethan Sellars scored 14 points apiece while
Jaylen Davis added 12.
Johnson scored 17 points in the first half including 13 of the team's last 16 for a 49-43 lead at the intermission.
The Panthers came out sizzling in the second period and blew out to a 71-59 advantage with 8:35 remaining.
CU erupted on a 16-4 run over four-plus minutes to knot the score at 75-75. ODU tallied five of the next six points to regain control.
Quotable: Head Coach Rob Jones
"I thought we played a really clean offensive first half and did a good job being aggressive and exploiting mismatches. We needed to defend better for the full 40 minutes.
"I was proud of our resolve to battle back in the second half, but the hole we put ourselves in was tough to overcome. We had chances when the game was tied and down two and didn't capitalize. Now we'll travel home and get ready for a quick turnaround on Saturday."
Five Facts:
- Johnson is averaging 19 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting .633 in his last four outings.
- Ruffolo and Will Gibson handed out four assists apiece.
- The starters scored all but 14 points.
- The Jackets made ten three-pointers – the eighth time they've drained at least ten.
- It was the 100th meeting between the two schools with Cedarville leading the all-time series, 72-28.
