The Ohio Northern men's basketball team nearly pulled off a huge upset, trailing by just two points in the final three minutes before falling 72-62 in an exhibition game at NCAA Division I foe Toledo on Tuesday evening at Savage Arena.
The Rockets improve to 2-0 on the season. The game counts as an exhibition contest for the Polar Bears because the official season starting date for NCAA Division III schools is Nov. 15.
Senior Nate Burger (Dayton/Alter) poured in 23 points and junior Ryan Bruns(Chickasaw/Marion Local) had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead ONU.
Tre'Shaun Fletcher had 27 points and 10 rebounds for Toledo.
The Polar Bears trailed 36-35 at halftime and were down 55-45 with 10:15 left in the game, but rallied to within 64-62 with 3:19 left and had a real chance at the upset.
But Toledo would score the game's final eight points to hold on for the win.
Junior Daniel Donner (Belleville/Northmoor) added 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Ohio Northern.
"I thought we had a legitimate chance to win it at the end," ONU head coach Rich Bensman said. "We had a couple of good looks but just couldn't knock them down. I'm really happy for our guys. We executed well against a very athletic and long team. Our players embraced the challenge of playing a Division I school and we had a great experience."
