Bruns notches 22nd career double-double as Men's Basketball drops 78-60 decision to Wilmington
By Tim Glon
ADA — Ohio Northern senior Ryan Bruns (Chickasaw/Marion Local) recorded his 22nd career double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to lead the Ohio Northern men's basketball team in a 78-60 loss to Wilmington on Wednesday night at the ONU Sports Center.
The Polar Bears fall to 4-14 overall and are 0-11 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Quakers improve to 11-6, 7-4.
Senior Daniel Donner (Belleville/Northmor) scored a team-high 15 points and junior Austin Allemeier (Lima/Elida) added 12 points for ONU.
WC had three players in double figures in scoring, led by Will Patrick with 19.
Bruns now has three double-doubles in the last four games and moved into fifth place all-time in ONU history with 1,520 career points in his four seasons as a Polar Bear.
Senior Sean Grady (Willowick/Eastlake North) nailed a three-pointer as part of his career-high seven points to bring ONU within 31-30 with 2:15 left in the first half.
But the Quakers would score the game's next 14 points, including the last eight of the first half and the first six of the second half, to go ahead 45-30 with 17:28 left in the game.
The lead would bounce between 10 and 17 points until a 3-pointer by Donner at the 3:57 mark pulled ONU within 64-56.
But WC would answer with an 11-0 run to push the lead to 75-56 with 1:12 to go.
The Polar Bears finished the game 22-of-59 from the floor for 37.9 percent and were 6-of-24 from 3-point range for 25 percent.
"When we are not shooting the ball well, our margin for error is thin," ONU head coach Rich Bensman said. "When that happens, we need to do a better job of the little things to not give up big runs. Give Wilmington credit - they hit some tough shots tonight."
The Quakers were 30-of-60 from the field for 50 percent and made 7-of-22 shots from beyond the arc for 31.8 percent.
The rebounding battle was tied at 36-all. WC forced ONU into 19 turnovers, while Northern defense forced 13 turnovers from Wilmington.
The Polar Bears will take to the road on Saturday for a 2 pm contest at Mount Union.
