College
Men’s basketball
Ottterbein 83, ONU 66
WESTERVILLE — Sophomore Brandon Waugh (Columbus/Northland) tied his career-high with five 3-pointers for the second consecutive game to lead the Ohio Northern men’s basketball team in an 83-66 loss at Otterbein on Wednesday evening at the Rike Center.
The Polar Bears (6-16 overall, 2-13 in the Ohio Athletic Conference) also got 14 points from freshman C.J. Napier (Miamisburg/Bishop Fenwick), 13 points from junior Thomas Phillips (Kenton) and 11 points from senior Caleb Bryan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour).
The Cardinals improve to 7-15, 4-11. OU was led by Dallas Patrick with 20 points and Jake Justice with 19 points.
Otterbein outscored ONU 20-4 over a 6:42 span in the first half to snap a 12-all tie and take a 32-16 lead with 5:54 left before intermission.
Waugh nailed four 3-pointers in 3:23 to get ONU within 41-35 with 1:30 left in the period, but OU ended the half on a 6-0 run to lead 47-35 after 20 minutes.
Northern opened the second half on an 8-2 run to get within 49-43 just 2:31 into the period.
But the Cardinals answered with a 17-5 run to extend its lead to 66-48 with 11:45 remaining.
Waugh also nailed five threes against Marietta on Saturday, finishing with a team-high 19 points in that contest.
Northern connected on 40.3 percent (25 of 62) of its shots from the floor and 22.2 percent (6 of 27) from 3-point land. Otterbein hit a blistering 53.2 percent (33 of 62) of its field-goal attempts and 42.3 percent (11 of 26) of its 3-point shots.
Otterbein out-rebounded Ohio Northern 39-35.
The Polar Bears will return home from their current three-game road trip with a 3 p.m. contest against John Carroll on Alumni Day at the ONU Sports Center on Saturday.
Football
Cruzen hired at ONU
ADA — Cody Cruzen has returned to his alma mater as an assistant football coach. He will coach the receivers and will serve as special teams coordinator.
Cruzen was in New Hampshire at Division II Saint Anselm (N.H.) during the 2018 season where he was the team’s defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator. During his time out east he coached a pair of all-conference selections in the secondary and on special teams.
Before going to Saint Anselm, Cruzen was at Muskingum where he served as defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator for the Muskies. He led a defensive group that was in the top of the OAC and in 2017 the Muskie defense led the OAC in takeaways. Prior to his stint in New Concord, Cruzen was a graduate assistant for Ball State in Muncie, Ind.
He spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons coaching the secondary at the University of Dayton. He helped the Flyers compile 18 wins in 23 games and earn an appearance in the FCS postseason. He coached two First Team All-Pioneer Football League selections in addition to the PFL Special Teams Player of the Year.
At Tiffin during the 2013 season, Cruzen assisted a defensive unit that ranked second in interceptions in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Cruzen got his start in coaching in 2011 at Ohio Northern. For two seasons he coached in the secondary mainly focusing on the safeties.
In his time coaching, Cruzen has coached 13 all-conference selections, 3 All-Americans and 4 future NFL players. He has also recruited Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, South Florida and Texas.
A 2011 graduate from Ohio Northern, Cruzen was a four-year student-athlete at safety and was a part of the nationally-ranked squad as a senior, ranking eighth in the national polls. He helped the team allow only 156.5 passing yards per game in 2010 en route to a second-round appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
High School
Lima Senior HOF tickets available
Tickets for the Lima City Schools Athletic Hall of Fame will be available to purchase at the door for $40. Presale tickets are still available online at https://limacityschools.square.site.
The event will be held Saturday, Feb. 15, at the UNOH Event Center, 1450 N. Cable Road.
Doors open at 4:45 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., with the program beginning at 7 p.m. Dinner provided by Lock Sixteen; Cash Bar.
For additional information, contact the Athletic Office at 419-996-3050.
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