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Otterbein stops ONU twice

Men and women’s teams lose

Otterbein defeated ONU men’s and women’s basketball teams this week. Both stories follow:

Men’s game

Senior Daniel Donner (Bellville/Northmor) had a career-high 23 points and senior All-American Ryan Bruns (Chickasaw/Marion Local) flirted with a triple-double, but Otterbein made 18 3-pointers en route to a 92-78 victory over the Ohio Northern men's basketball team on Wednesday evening at the Rike Center.

The Polar Bears fall to 4-12 overall and are 0-9 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Cardinals are now 5-11, 2-7.

Bruns had his second consecutive double-double and the 21st of his career with 17 points and 13 rebounds. He also added a career-high seven assists to just miss what would have been the second triple-double in ONU men's basketball history.

Junior Austin Allemeier (Elida) had 14 points and sophomore Colton Bachman (Piqua) had 13 points for ONU.

Otterbein had six players score in double figures, led by Maurice Beavers with 21 points.

The Cardinals were red-hot from the floor, finishing the game 18-of-36 from 3-point range.

Donner had 11 points in the first half as the Polar Bears led 43-42 at intermission.

OU made 11 of its first 14 shots of the second half, scoring 31 points in the first eight minutes, to take a 73-63 lead with 11:54 left in the game.

The Cardinals' lead was 78-65 when Donner made two free throws and Allemeier nailed a 3-pointer to get ONU within 78-71 with 6:25 to go.

But Otterbein out-scored Ohio Northern 14-4 to take a 92-75 lead with 1:07 to play.

"You are just not going to win too many games when the other team makes 18 3-pointers," ONU head coach Rich Bensman said. "We were not very good defensively, but give them credit - they knocked down a bunch of shots."

ONU made 29-of-67 shots from the field for 43.3 percent and were 9-of-25 from three-point range for 36.0 percent, while OU converted 29-of-60 shot attempts for 48.3 percent and were 16-of-19 from the foul line for 84.2 percent.

Ohio Northern out-rebounded Otterbein 44-26 and did not allow an offensive rebound in the contest, but lost the turnover battle 16-7.

The Polar Bears will return to action on Saturday when they host Capital in an OAC battle at 2 pm at the ONU Sports Center.

Women’s game

ADA — The Ohio Northern women's basketball team dropped a tightly-contested, 61-54 affair in overtime to Ohio Athletic Conference foe Otterbein Wednesday evening inside the ONU Sports Center in Ada, Ohio.

With the loss, Ohio Northern moves to 10-6 overall and to 4-5 in the OAC following the first round-robin portion to the 2018-19 conference schedule. Meanwhile, the Cardinals improve their record to 9-7 overall and leap past Northern in the OAC standings with a 5-4 mark.

The defeat concludes a previous three-game win streak to open the 2019 calendar year for the Polar Bears. 

Seniors Jenna Dirksen (Beavercreek/Carroll) and Tori Wyss (Ada) each scored in double-figures to pace the Polar Bear offensive attack on Wednesday night.

Dirksen continued her impressive senior campaign with a 16-point outing during the midweek contest, shooting five-for-twelve from the floor, which included two three-point field goals and a perfect four-for-four effort from the charity stripe. The Beavercreek native would also add four rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals in the conference showdown.

Wyss tied her season-high scoring total in Wednesday's contest, tallying 11 points on four-for-six shooting from the floor and a three-for-three effort from the free throw line. The hometown senior would additionally provide a team-high seven rebounds and contribute an assist in 32 minutes.

Otterbein received a big night from senior forward Dani Kissel, the Ohio Athletic Conference's leading scorer, who registered a game-high 23 points.

In the first period, Northern got out to a quick lead as senior guard Alyssa Manley (Lima/Bath) recorded a steal on Otterbein's opening possession and drilled a three-pointer on the subsequent play for a 3-0 edge. Moments later, Kissel sparked an 11-2 OU run at the 7:35 mark with a jumper inside the paint, which pushed the Cardinals to a 14-7 cushion heading into the second frame.

After exchanging baskets early in the second period, the Polar Bears opened up a 9-0 run with just over three minutes to play in the half. The scoring stretch would even give Ohio Northern a 20-18 edge at the 1:24 mark for their first lead since the opening minutes. The Cardinals would score the next five points, putting the visitors up 23-22 at the intermission.

The Polar Bears offense began to click early in the second half as the home side strung together a 12-0 run to start the third period. The run would last until the 5:41 mark when ONU claimed its largest lead Wednesday night with a 34-23 scoreline. However, Otterbein would not concede easily, rallying with a 9-0 stretch of their own to shrink the Northern lead to just one with 10 minutes remaining.

Trailing 50-47 late in the fourth period, Wyss knocked down a critical, long-range jump shot to cut the lead to one. One possession later, Dirksen drilled a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to put the Polar Bears back on top 52-50. Needing late-game heroics, Otterbein called upon their leading scorer, Dani Kissel, and she delivered a game-tying jumper with five seconds left in the contest to send the game to extra time.

In the overtime period, the two sides traded free throws to keep the game all knotted up at 54-54. The Cardinals would then rattle off seven consecutive points over the final two minutes, clinching the conference victory on the road.

The Polar Bears will return to action on Saturday, January 19 when they are slated for an Ohio Athletic Conference battle at Capital beginning at 3 p.m. Fans should be sure to check back at ONUSports.com.

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