COLUMBUS, Ohio — A second half rally by Ohio Dominican's men's basketball team fell just short in a 73-70 loss to Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday in a Great Midwest Athletic Conference contest at Alumni Hall.

Ohio Dominican (5-3, 1-1 G-MAC) trailed 37-29 at the end of the first half, but began the first 10 minutes of the second half on a 28-13 run. Trailing 37-29, senior Ronnie Williams (Columbus, Ohio) made a jump to shot to begin the second half and jumpstart ODU. A free throw by sophomore forward Hasan Varence (Queens, New York) at the 10:44 mark of the second half saw Ohio Dominican hit the apex of its run, giving ODU a 57-48 lead.

Trailing 65-64 with 5:17 to go, Williams hit two free throws to give Ohio Dominican a one-point lead, then at the 4:54 mark, Varence recorded a steal and senior Shemar Waugh (Columbus, Ohio) took the ball and found Varence for a thunderous alley-oop on the other end, giving ODU a 68-65 lead with 4:49 to go.

But Kentucky Wesleyan held ODU without a made field goal over the final 4:49, going on to earn a 73-70 victory over Ohio Dominican.

Waugh scored a career-high 28 points to lead all scorers, also notching five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Williams finished with 10 points and three assists. Varence notched six points and matched a career-high 14 rebounds. Sophomore guards Sam Hickey (Toledo, Ohio) and Ryan Hoyng (Celina, Ohio) scored eight and seven points respectively off the bench for Ohio Dominican.

ODU hosts Trevecca on Saturday, December 9 at 1 p.m. in its next contest.

Contact: Aaron McPherson
mcphersa@ohiodominican.edu