With the win, Muskingum improves to 11-4 overall, 7-2 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, while the Polar Bears also fall to 11-4 overall, 6-3 in the OAC.
It was all ONU in the first half as junior Greg Badenhop got things rolling for the Bears hitting a three-pointer to break a 2-2 tie.
The lead for the Bears grew by as many as 15 points on a jumper by freshman Loudan Hammersmith with 5:43 left before the intermission.
The Bears continued to play hard, but the Muskies regained some momemtum off two Cole Pittis baskets and Northern went to the locker room with a 37-31 advantage.
In the second half, the Muskies were able to close the gap on great defensive play. A three-pointer by the Muskies’ Trevor Scott 10 mintues into the period had the Bears clinging to a one point lead, 46-45.
A three-pointer by Brandon Todd gave the Muskies their first lead of the game 48-46 with 8:40 left in the game. Todd was able to then push the Muskingum lead to 51-46 on a key three-point play.
The teams traded the next couple of points, but Muskigum prevailed 58-56 on another Todd three-pointer, with 2:55 left in the game. Muskingum finished the game on a 6-2 run.
Todd and Pittis paved the way for Muskingum, each scoring 23 and 21 points, respectively.
Junior Jared Bostleman added seven points for the Bears, while senior Nate Lieb and junior Bart Hostetler each chipped in six points apiece.
ONU had the rebound advantage over the Muskies, 34-30.
Northern hit 56.0 percent of its shots in the first half (14-of-25), while Muskingum hit 12-of-31 shots for 38.7 percent. Muskingum held the Bears to a 14.3 shooting percentage (4-of-28) in the second period, while they connected on 9-of-20 shots for 45.0 percent in the second half.
Muskingum overall hit 21-of-51 for 41.2 percent, compared to Northern’s 18-of-53 for a 34.0 percent.
The Polar Bears will return to action as they travel to Bexley on Saturday, to face Capital in a 1 p.m. tip-off.