BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo State men's basketball team could not find the game-winner at the end of regulation, and Ohio Northern made the plays it needed in overtime as the Bengals dropped the 2021-22 home opener to the Polar Bears Friday night.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Ohio Northern – 90, Buffalo State – 88 (OT)
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State (0-2), Ohio Northern (3-1)

INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Sheldon Adams (Rochester, NY/Bishop Kearney) finished with a career-high 39 points on 11-of-24 shooting from the field, adding five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
• Aaron Davis (Beacon, NY/Beacon) tallied a career-high of his own with 27 points, going 9-of-18 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. He added five assists.
• Philbert Weekes (Brooklyn, NY/Lafayette) scored five points but pulled down an impressive 21 rebounds and added two blocked shots.
• The Bengals shot 41.4 percent (29-of-70) from the field and 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from the 3-point line.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Buffalo State led most of the first half, stretching its lead to as many as 15 points after Adams capped a 19-4 Bengal run with a deep 3-pointer.
• The Polar Bears chipped away at the deficit, bringing it down to three as Landen Long scored in the paint with under a minute left in the half.
• Marquell Boutell (Liverpool, NY/Nottingham) finished the half with a second-chance basket as the Bengals led 44-39 at the break.
• The Bengals pushed the lead back up to double digits early in the second half, with Bush Rieang (Buffalo, NY/McKinley) finishing the fastbreak layup to go up 63-53 at the 12-minute mark.
• Ohio Northern chipped away at the deficit over the next nine minutes, finally taking a 75-74 lead after a pair of Brandon Waugh free throws.
• 'State took the lead back, as Adams made a pair of free throws and Weeks converted on a tough jumper in the paint to take a 78-75 lead.
• The Polar Bears scored five straight points, including a jumper and the front half of two free throws from CJ Napier, as they led 80-78 with 28 seconds remaining.
• Coming out of the timeout, Adams was fouled driving into the lane, but made one of two free throws as ONU's lead stayed at one.
• Luckily for the Bengals, Waugh missed both free throws in front of a raucous Sports Arena crowd, as the Bengals had one last chance to win the game in regulation with 12 seconds remaining.
• Davis drove towards the paint and drew the foul with six seconds remaining and made the first free throw to tie the game, but missed the go-ahead free throw.
• The ball found Weekes, who tried to tip in the rebound but it bounced out as the teams geared for overtime.
• Both teams hit 3-pointers from the wing to begin the extra session, but five straight ONU points gave the visitors an 88-83 lead with 1:47 remaining.
• Adams hit two free throws with 40 seconds remaining to reduce the deficit to three, but a back-breaking layup by Michael Berner at the tail end of the shot clock proved to be the game-winning points for the Polar Bears.

 
FOR THE FOES

• Napier led Ohio Northern with a 23-point, 14-rebound double-double.
• Long added 18 points, Scott added 17, Waugh scored 14, and Berner chipped in 10 as five Polar Bears scored in double figures.
• Ohio Northern shot 50 percent (36-of-72) from the floor and its bench outscored Buffalo State's by a 22-4 margin.