Kuhlman leads four in double figures in scoring with 17 points as Men's Basketball falls to Heidelberg 82-74

 By Tim Glon

ADA -- Senior Taylor Kuhlman had game-highs of 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Ohio Northern in an 82-74 Ohio Athletic Conference men's basketball loss to Heidelberg Wednesday night at the ONU Sports Center.

The Polar Bears fall to 7-7 overall and are 3-4 in OAc play, while the Student Princes improve to 8-6, 3-4.

Kuhlman led four ONU players in double figures with his 17 points. Junior Branden Rushton and sophomore Isaiah Roux added 12 points each and junior Jared Horstman chipped in 10 points for Northern.

Heidelberg had five in double figures, led by Dane Givner with 19 points and Nate Davis with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Northern started fast and went on an 11-1 run to take a 23-12 lead with 8:47 gone in the game.

An 8-2 run, capped by a three-point play by Horstman, gave the Polar Bears a commanding 42-23 lead with just 2:49 left in the half.

But Heidelberg rallied, going on a 16-0 run over the next 3:19, to pull within 42-39 just 30 seconds into the second half.

ONU led 42-34 at halftime, after HU scored the final 12 points of the first half, but Givner scored a three-point play and Ishaam Smith, Jr., got a steal and a basket to cut the lead to three quickly in the second period.

"The start of the second half was critical," ONU head coach Kevin Byrne said. "Heidelberg's defense rattled us a little bit right there and the game was a battle the rest of the way. Give them credit, they made some plays down the stretch and deserved to win the game. I thought we played very well for the first 18 minutes, but we need to be more consistent for the full 40 minutes of basketball."

ONU trailed 66-59 with 8:52 left. but rattled off the next eight points to regain a 67-66 lead with 6:21 to play.

Two free throws by Roux at the 3:15 mark put ONU up 71-70 and a three-pointer by sophomore Lucas Pennington gave ONU a 74-73 lead with 2:51 left.

Givner scored with 2:39 to play and Heidelberg would score the game's final nine points to put away the win.

Northern finished the game shooting 28-of-58 from the floor for 48.3 percent, while Heidelberg would make 26-of-47 field goal attempts for 55.3 percent.

HU was 7-of-10 from 3-point land and made 23-of-35 free throw attempts compared to 6-15 shooting from beyond the arc and 12-of-15 shooting from the charity stripe by the ONU.

Heidelberg won the rebounding battle 30-28.

The Polar Bears will return to action Saturday afternoon in a 3 pm contest against OAC leader Capital at the ONU Sports Center.