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ONU gets out early and beats HU men in Ness Bros. final

Huntington University guard Konner Platt does some mid-air maneuvering to get a pass out to the wing in action Saturday, Nov. 9, in the championship game of the Ness Bros. Hall of Fame Classic at Platt Arena on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Huntington University guard Konner Platt does some mid-air maneuvering to get a pass out to the wing in action Saturday, Nov. 9, in the championship game of the Ness Bros. Hall of Fame Classic at Platt Arena on Saturday, Nov. 9. Photo by Scott Trauner.

Visiting Olivet Nazarene University jumped out to a big first half lead and never looked back to beat the Huntington University men’s basketball team, 88-68, on Saturday, Nov. 9, in the championship of the Ness Bros. Hall of Fame Tournament at Platt Arena.

The 11th-ranked Tigers turned an early deficit of 8-7 into a 25-7 margin with 18 straight points, and HU was on the way to its first loss after three wins.

The Tigers burned the nets with 64.5 percent shooting from the field on 20 of 31 accuracy in the opening frame.

HU was led by sophomores Caleb Middlesworth and Spencer Ballinger, who finished with 21 and 19 points, respectively. Senior Konner Platt contributed 14 points.

Middlesworth also led the Foresters on the boards with 11 rebounds.

Platt added a team-high four assists.

HU hit 27 of 61 shots from the field for 44.3 percent and added 5 of 6 from the charity stripe. Olivet Nazarene hit only 11 of 33 shots from the field for 33.3 percent in the second half to finish at 31 of 64, 48.4 percent for the game. ONU hit 12 of 13 from the stripe for 92.3 percent.

Five Tigers hit double figures for the contest, with John Contant and Nic Reed each collecting 18 points. Alex Gross added 14 points, Dane Schlafley had 11 and Kensen Vaughan added 10 points off the bench.