Men's Basketball: Ohio Northern (0-0 Overall) at Toledo (1-0 Overall)

Tuesday, November 14, 2017 - 7 pm - Savage Arena, Toledo, Ohio

| 2017-18 Ohio Northern Season Preview |

Tuesday's Game: Ohio Northern will face Toledo in one final tune-up before its season-opener on Monday at area-rival Defiance ... The contest will be shown live on ESPN3 ... Tuesday's game will count as an exhibition game for the Polar Bears as NCAA Division III teams cannot play official games until Nov. 15 ... The game will count as a varsity contest for the Rockets, as DI schools could begin varsity play Nov. 8 ... The Polar Bears are 4-4 all-time against the Rockets, but have only played once since ONU became a Division III school in 1974 ... Ohio Northern has a rich history of playing NCAA Division I schools and is 4-15 as a DIII school against Division I opponents, with victories over Louisiana Tech (57-52) in 1996, Northern Arizona (58-56) in 1981, Portland (48-46) in 1981 and Oklahoma (72-69) in 1980 ... ONU last played a Division I school in 2012, falling in an exhibition game at Kent State 84-48 ... Toledo topped the Polar Bears 56-55 on Dec. 23, 1985 in the last meeting between the two schools ... ONU returns two starters and 14 lettermen from last year's squad that went 16-10 overall and was second in the OAC with a 14-4 league record ... Senior Joey DiOrio (8.8 ppg) and junior Ryan Bruns (13.0 ppg) are ONU's two returning starters ... Seniors Nate Burger (13.1 ppg) and Travis Feitshans (6.2 ppg) also have starting experience ... Junior Daniel Donner and sophomore Austin Allemeier will be making the first varsity start of their careers ... Toledo is 1-0 on the season after a 98-87 victori over Saint Joseph's on Saturday ... Junior guard Jaelan Sanford set career highs with 31 points and eight assists for the Rockets ... He was joined in double figures by junior forward Nate Navigato, who tied his career high with 22 points, as well as senior guard Tre'Shaun Fletcher (13 pts.) and sophomore center Luke Knapke (10 pts.) ... The Rockets surged to an 18-4 lead to open the game and never trailed despite a late challenge from the Hawks.

Ohio Northern Probable Starters (2016-17 stats):

G - #12 Nate Burger, Sr., (13.1 ppg, 44 3FG, 78 ast)
G - #5 Austin Allemeier, So., (.7 ppg)
F - #22 Joey DiOrio, Sr., (8.8 ppg, .538 3FG, 4.3 rpg)
F - #13 Daniel Donner, Jr. (.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
C - #21 Ryan Bruns, Sr. (13.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg)

ONU Returning Statistical Leaders (2016-17):

All-Time Series: ONU and Toledo are tied in the all-time series at 4-4 ... Toledo edged Ohio Northern 56-55 in the last meeting on Dec. 23, 1985.

ONU head coach Rich Bensman: Bensman is in his first season at ONU with a 16-10 record, a winning percentage of .615.