Junior Thomas Phillips (Kenton) gifted himself and the Ohio Northern men's basketball team an early Christmas present Saturday. Phillips nearly doubled his pervious career high, as the Polar Bears downed Manchester 73-66 inside the ONU Sports Center.
Phillips poured in 22 points, shattering his old career-high of 12 points. He was 8-for-12 from the floor, which included going 5-for-7 from 3-point land. Phillips also added nine rebounds and three assists.
"He played really hard," ONU head coach Rich Bensman said. "He was really focused. He was locked in. He did a good job. I thought they all played as a team much better. I think this group swung the ball a little more, shared the ball a little more. I think they played as a team real well today."
Freshman Landon Long (Mason) added 16 points on 6 of 13 accuracy. Sophomore Brandon Waugh(Columbus/Northland) chipped in 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting to go alongside two assists and two steals.
The Polar Bears connected on 46.8 percent (29 of 62) of their field-goal attempts and 34.5 percent (10 of 29) of their shots from deep. The Spartans hit 41 percent (25 of 61) of their shots from the floor and 23.3 percent (7 of 30) from beyond the 3-point arc. Manchester won the rebounding battle 39-32.
Northern got off to a fast start, as a Phillips 3 at the 15:58 mark gave his team a 14-6 lead. Long gave the Polar Bears their first double-digit lead of the game, 27-17, on a bucket with 7:51 to play in the opening half. ONU extended its cushion to as large as 37-23 — on a basket from freshman Adam Scott (Wapakoneta) — at the 3:09 mark before settling for a 39-33 halftime advantage.
Waugh gave Northern its largest lead of the game, 54-35, on a 3 with 14:10 left. The Spartans chipped away at their deficit — minimizing it to as little as five, 71-66, with 1:07 to play in the game — but the Polar Bears locked in during the final minute to snap their four-game slide.
The victory improved ONU to 3-5 on the season, while the loss dropped Manchester to 3-7 on the year.
"We are a young and inexperienced team," Bensman said. "Our guy with the most minutes is senior Austin Allemeier (Elida). He has played here four years, and he's our defensive stopper. But you look out at a Thomas Phillips and he's playing more and senior Caleb Bryan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) is playing more. We aren't only young but inexperienced, so we just got to make sure we continue to get better and move forward."
The Polar Bears return to the floor Dec. 29 and 30 when they'll travel to Wittenberg to participate in the Wittenberg Holiday Tournament. ONU will battle Spalding (Ky.) Sunday before playing Wittenberg or Elmira (N.Y.) Monday.
Women
The Ohio Northern women's basketball team got off to a frigid start, as it fell to Trine (Ind.) 61-53 on Saturday afternoon at the MTI Center.
The Polar Bears (6-2 overall) were held scoreless in the first 6:53, missing their first 10 shots. The Thunder, which jumped out to a 10-0 run to start the game, improve to 6-3 on the season.
Junior Emily Brock (Akron/Revere) provided a spark off the ONU bench, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range, ending the game with nine points.
Freshman Brynn Serbin (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) added eight points, four rebounds, and a pair of assists. Senior Emily Mescher (Maria Stein/Marion Local) contributed six points, eight boards, and a trio of dimes.
Trine extended its initial 10-0 lead to 29-17 with 2:08 left in the first half.
A 3-pointer by sophomore Jaidyn Hale (Lima/Bath) cut the deficit to 31-23 after 20 minutes of play.
The Polar Bears drew within three after Brock drilled a 3-pointer with 4:36 remaining in the third period.
TU answered with a 7-2 run to lead 47-39 two minutes into the fourth quarter.
Northern cut the deficit to five via 3-pointers on three separate occasions in the final 7:36 — senior Abby Weeks(West Chester/Mount Notre Dame) with 7:36 to go, senior Jaclyn Yankle (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) with 6:39 to go, and sophomore Kate Iliff (Lorain/Amherst Steele) with 3:39 to go.
The Thunder held ONU without a basket for the next 2:39. A lay-up and foul put Trine up 61-53 with 49 seconds to put the game out of reach.
ONU was 19-for-56 (33.9 percent) from the floor and made a season-high 11 3-pointers on 30 attempts (36.7 percent). TU went 23-for-50 (46.0 percent) from the field and 9-for-25 (36.0 percent) from deep.
The Polar Bears held a 36-29 advantage on the glass, including 14 offensive rebounds.
Ohio Northern travels to the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational next, facing Manchester (Ind.) on Dec. 29 and Ohio Wesleyan on Dec. 30.
