Men's Basketball drops 79-71 decision at Mount Union

By Caleb Scott

ADA —The Ohio Northern men's basketball team fell to OAC-foe Mount Union 79-71 Saturday afternoon at the the MAAC.

The Polar Bears fall to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Purple Raiders improve to 5-2, 1-1.

Sophomore Ryan Bruns (Chickasaw/Marion Local) led Northern offensively, as he recorded a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. 

Seniors Konnor Baker (11), Aron Thress (10 points), Devon Allen (10 points) and Joey Hurless (10 points) each scored in double figures for Northern.

After Northern fell behind 14-3 early in the first half, an 8-2 run fueled by four points from seniors Hurless (Van Wert) and Allen (Lima/Senior) pulled the Polar Bears within 16-11 with 14:13 remaining in the first half.

After back-to-back layups from Bruns and a 3-pointer from junior Nate Burger (Dayton/Alter) pulled Northern within 33-32, a layup from senior Baker (Ada) gave Northern its first lead with 6:19 remaining in the first half.

Northern would take a 44-41 lead into the intermission after a three pointer from Hurless gave ONU the advantage at the break.

MtU would use an 8-0 run to begin the second half and take a 49-44 lead just over a minute into the second half.

A layup from Baker with 7:06 remaining in the contest would allow the Polar Bears to regain a 63-62 lead.

After a layup from Thress gave Northern a 71-70 advantage with 3:04 remaining in the contest, the Purple Raiders would close the game on a 9-0 run to seal the 79-71 victory.

Northern shot 25-of-58 (43.1 percent) from the field, including 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) from the 3-point line.

ONU won the battle on the boards by a 37-32 mark, including 10 offensive rebounds. 

The Polar Bears will return to action Saturday as they host John Carroll at the ONU Sports Center at 2 pm.