By Tim Glon
MARIETTA — Ohio Northern fell at No. 6-ranked Marietta 100-49 in the championship game of the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Saturday night at at Ban Johnson Fieldhouse.
The fifth-seeded Polar Bears end their season at 6-8, while the top-seeded Pioneers end their season at 13-2.
The game marked the second time in the past four seasons that Ohio Northern reached the finals of the OAC Tournament.
Sophomores Grant Heileman (Millersport/Sheridan) and Landen Long (Mason) were named to the All-OAC Tournament Team.
Long scored 10 points and heieleman scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead ONU.
Marietta was led by Jason Ellis with 25 points.
MC raced out to a 30-11 lead with 8:12 left in the first half to take control early.
Ohio Northern answered with a 10-0 run over the next 2:08 to get within 30-21 with 6:04 to play.
A dunk by sophomore Heath Jeffries (Newark/Catholic) and a basket by Heileman pulled the Polar Bears within 34-27 with 3:53 left in the opening half.
MC ended the half on a 9-3 run and led 43-30 at intermission.
The hosts opened the second half on a 16-3 run and the lead was 59-33 with 14:13 remaining in the game.
Ohio Northern made 16-of-53 field goals for 30.2 percent and was 4-of-22 from 3-point range for 18.2 percent. Marietta made 37-of-79 shots from the floor for 46.8 percent and made 14-of-33 shots from beyond the arc for 42.4 percent.
The pioneers out-rebounded the Polar Bears 57-29.
Men's lacrosse
TIFFIN — Senior Cameron Marous (Brecksville/Brecksville/Broadview Heights) dished out a school record seven assists and senior Joe O'Connell (Fishers, Ind.) had a 5-goal hat trick as the Ohio Northern men's lacrosse team opened the Ohio Athletic Conference portion of its schedule with a 25-6 victory at Heidelberg on Saturday afternoon at Hoernemann Stadium.
The Polar Bears (2-0, 1-0 OAC) also got a hat trick from senior Kevin Giles (Newport News, Va./Warhill).
The Student Princes (0-2, 0-1) were led by Alex Bruder with a hat trick.
In all, 16 different Ohio Northern players scored a goal and 50 different players saw action in the game.
ONU also set a school record with 41 points in the contest, breaking the previous record of 39 set in 2017 and tied in 2018.
Northern's 25 goals and 16 assists were only one off the previous school records of 26 and 17, respectively.
Marous broke the single-game record of six assists he shared with Steven Slagle.
The Polar Bears were in control from the outset, scoring the game's first nine goals. Northern led 8-0 after the first period, 14-1 at halftime and 19-2 after three periods.
ONU out-shot HU 74-13, including a 27-5 advantage in the second period.
The Polar Bears will return to action on Saturday with a 1 pm home contest against Muskingum.
Women's lacrosse
ADA — Junior Kaitlin Thomson (Johns Creek, Ga./Chattahoochee) had a hat trick with three goals and senior Annie McArn (Bay Village/Western Reserve Academy) had two goals and two assists to lead the Ohio Northern women's lacrosse team in a 17-9 loss to Mount Union on Saturday afternoon at Dial-Roberson Stadium.
The Polar Bears fall to 2-3 overall and is 2-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Purple Raiders improve to 4-0, 4-0.
Northern battled back from an early 3-0 deficit on goals 46 seconds apart by and freshman Noel Orioli(Westerville/North) to make it 3-2 with 18:13 left in the first half.
Freshman Sydney Kilgore (Pleasant Plain/Little Miami) scored with 12:43 left in the half to make it 5-3.
Mount Union ended the half on a 7-0 run to lead 12-3 and scored one minute into the second half to make it 13-3.
The Polar Bears played hard the full 60 minutes and despite trailing 16-4, outscored MtU 5-1 in the final 17:03 of the contest.
Statistically, the game was fairly even.
Mount Union out-shot Ohio Northern 26-23, held a 14-13 advantage in draw controls and edged ONU in ground balls 22-21.
Northern won the turnover battle by forcing MtU into 25 while committing only 23.
The Polar Bears will return to action on Wednesday with a 7 pm contest at Baldwin Wallace.
Softball
TIFFIN — The Ohio Northern softball team opened its 2021 season with a tie and a loss at Heidelberg on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Frann's Field.
The Polar Bears are now 0-1-1 overall, while the Student Princes are 1-0-1.
None of the four games this weekend will count in the Ohio Athletic Conference Regular Season standings as the two teams will play a 4-game series later in the season as part of the OAC's 36-game schedule.
Sophomore Sydney Motylinski (Ida, Mich.) went 4-for-6 with a 3-run home run and 4 RBI to lead the Ohio Northern offense.
In Game 1, Northern led 7-5 after the top of the fourth and had a 9-7 lead entering the bottom of the seventh only to see the hosts score three times in the home half of the inning to win the opener 10-9.
In the night cap,junior Abby Elliott (Loveland/Ursuline) walked and later scored on a 2-out wild pitch in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 6-6.
Heidelberg was unable to score in the home half of the frame and the game was called after seven innings due to darkness.
Senior Gabby Stewart (Union, Ky./St. Henry) and junior Rachel Hish (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) each had three hits on the day for ONU.
All six members of the Ohio Northern pitching staff threw at least two innings in the doubleheader, led by freshman Alex Daum (Wapakoneta) and MarcQue Harris (Fremont/Old Fort), who combined to throw 5.0 innings of shutout softball.
The Polar Bears and Student Princes will play another non-conference doubleheader on Sunday at 1 pm in Ada.
Fans will not be allowed to attend due to the OAC's COVID-19 policy.
Indoor track and field
WESTERVILLE — Senior Sam Krabacher (Hamilton/Badin) and junior Andrew Buderer (Oak Harbor) won titles to lead Ohio Northern to a third-place finish in the Ohio Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday at the Clements Center at Otterbein.
ONU finished third of 10 teams with 102 points. No. 8-ranked Mount Union won the team title with 217.5 points, No. 9 John Carroll was second with 185 points and Otterbein was fourth with 92.5 points.
With the third-place finish the Polar Bears end their indoor season with a 26-5 record.
The top three finishers in each of the 19 events earned All-Conference honors and the top eight in each event scored team points.
Buderer won the pole vault for the second consecutive indoor season with a vault of 4.66 meters.
Krabacher won the 800 in 1:56.16 to earn All-OAC accolades for the third consecutive indoor season in the event.
Junior Nate Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela-Saint Joseph) was All-Conference in the 200 with a second-place finish in 22.19. Dean also tied Josh Colbert's school record of 7.95 seconds in the 60 and finished in fourth.
Sophomore Billy Driemeyer (House Springs, Mo./Lindbergh) finished in second in the 3000 in 8:35.75 to become an All-OAC honoree for the first time in his young career.
Junior Luke Shellhaas (Greenville/Versailles) was named All-Conference in the pole vault with a third-place finish with a vault of 4.56 meters.
Sophomore Hunter Kesler (Oakwood/Paulding) finished third in the 400 in 51.05 seconds to become an All-OAC award-winner.
The 4x400 relay team of Dean, Krabacher, freshman David Gross (Prospect/Pleasant Local), and Kesler finished third in 3:30.83 earning All-OAC honors.
The Polar Bears will start their outdoor season March 20 at Marietta.
Women's lacrosse
ADA — Ohio Northern scored five goals in the first 8:13 of the contest and went on to a 15-4 Ohio Athletic Conference women's lacrosse victory over Heidelberg on Wednesday night at Dial-Roberson Stadium.
The Polar Bears improve to 2-2 overall and are 2-2 in the OAC, while the Student Princes fall to 0-4, 0-4.
Freshman Sydney Kilgore (Pleasant Plain/Little Miami) scored six goals for her fourth consecutive hat trick and freshman Emma Perry (Pickerington/North) picked up her first collegiate hat trick with three goals to lead Ohio Northern.
Heidelberg also got a hat trick by Dana Dudley.
Northern led 5-0 out of the gate and was up 8-1 at the 14:39 mark of the first half.
The Polar Bears scored three consecutive goals in a span of 2:06 late in the half to lead 12-2 at intermission.
HU got within 12-4 with 18:05 left in the game, but ONU would score the game's final three goals to put the game away.
Freshmen goalies Molly Dixson (Cannonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and Chloe Millican (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) combined for nine saves in goal for the hosts.
Ohio Northern out-shot Heidelberg 32-20 and held a 25-19 advantage in ground balls.
The Polar Bears will return to action on Saturday when they host Mount Union at 1 pm.
