MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican men's basketball team bounced back from a tough weekend to shut down the NAIA No. 7 ranked Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars, 86-76, in non-conference action on Tuesday evening.   The Panthers held the American Mideast Conferences second leading scoring offense to just 38.7 shooting percentage, well below their 50.8 season average.

"This was a big win for us," said head coach Artie Taylor.   "We executed our game plan on both ends of the floor tonight.   It's been a tough pre-season schedule, but those early games we felt would prepare us for the leagues tough opponents and we proved that tonight," added Taylor.  more

It was a seesaw battle in the first half with lead changes after lead changes.   ODU jumped out early to score the first four points of the game, but it was the Cougars that put together a 14-6 run to take their first lead of the game.  

With the Cougars holding a 16-12 cushion at the 15:07 mark, Ohio Dominican rattled off nine straight points to regain the lead 21-16. Adriene Rodriguez (Lorain, OH) led the surge with four points, and Dominic Russo (Sagamore Hills, OH) nailed a trey. MVNU answered with eight straight points to go in front 24-21 on a tip-in by junior wing Travis Brown with 8:05 left in the half.   A layup by senior guard Ben Falkenberg with 2:58 before the break put the Cougars up 31-27, but the Panthers scored six of the final seven points to take a 33-32 lead to the locker room at the half.

The Panthers scored the first five points of the second half to extend their lead to 38-32 after a pair of free throws from Donald Suel (Columbus, OH) and a three-pointer by Russo. Trailing 40-34, with just over three minutes gone by, the Cougars used a 12-5 run to regain the lead 46-45 after a jumper by Brown with 13:06 to play.   Mt. Vernon's Ben Falkenberg drained a three-pointer and a trio of free throws to help fuel the comeback. Over the next eight minutes, there would be three ties and 10 lead changes as the teams traded baskets with neither team leading by more than four points. MVNU held a slim 64-63 advantage at the 5:05 mark as Borcherdt connected on a pair of free throws. A pair of free throws by Russo with 4:34 to play put Ohio Dominican back on top 65-64 and started what would end up being a 23-12 run by the Panthers to end the game. Ohio Dominican went 17-for-20 at the free throw line during that span.   For the night ODU connected on 23-for-28 at the charity stripe.  

Ohio Dominican shot 45.3 percent from the field and a season best 82.1 percent from the free throw line.   Leading the way for the Panthers was Rodriguez with a game high 24 points.   Suel chipped in with 17 and Russo finished the night with 10 for the ODU.

The Panthers return to action this Saturday, December 6^th as they travel to Siena Heights University for a non-conference match-up with the Saints.   Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican women's tennis team welcomes their first recruit of the 2009-10 academic year with the signing of Krista Derry.   Derry comes to ODU from Watkins Memorial High School in Pataskala, Ohio.

Derry recently finished an impressive high school career where she was named team Most Valuable Player for four years.   Krista played number one singles for her entire high school career finishing with an 84-23 overall record.  more

Off the court, Krista works just as hard. She carries a 3.7 G.P.A and is a member of the National Honor Society. Derry played for the basketball team at Watkins Memorial and was named Honorable Mention OCC as a junior.

"Krista is a very gifted athlete and will continue to develop her tennis skills at Ohio Dominican," said head coach Ryan Beigle.  "Krista brings a great attitude and will be a great addition to our programs future."

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican University women's basketball team signed its first recruit for the 2009-2010 season as Tenia Scarver has decided to further her education and continue her basketball career at ODU.

Scarver, a point guard from Kettering, Ohio, is a member of the girl's basketball team at Kettering Fairmont High School. She has been a three-year starter after transferring in from Yellow Springs High School as a sophomore. Scarver was also a member of the Kettering Cobras AAU squad this past summer.    more

"Tenia caught our eye early on in the summer. She is a quality basketball player and an even better person. She is a person of high character and integrity. We are extremely excited about Tenia joining our Panther squad next season," said head coach Nathan Bellman.

"I really liked the distance from home to ODU and my sister is close by so I'll be close to family. The size and location were really important factors," commented Scarver on her decision to come to Ohio Dominican. Scarver added, "I really liked the girls on the team. They made me feel welcome."

 Bellman added, "Tenia comes from a solid high school program and she plays for a good high school coach in Tim Cogan. She is a steady point guard who has the ability to shoot from the perimeter and handles the ball extremely well. Tenia will really help us from the point guard position."

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – The Ohio Dominican women's basketball team earned their second consecutive road win on Saturday afternoon, defeating the NAIA 6^th ranked Cornerstone University Golden Eagles 67-65 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Panthers used two defensive stops in the final seconds to hold on for the upset win.

The Panthers battled from the outset of the opening half, as they were able to climb out of an early eight point deficit to claim a 30-30 tie after 20-minutes of play.  more

The second half saw another competitive half, as both teams countered each others runs. Cornerstone again jumped out to an early eight point advantage, but a Panther run helped them grab the lead with 11:59 remaining. ODU never trailed again and hung on for the non-conference road win.  

Leading the way for the Panthers was freshman Meredith Fox (Springboro, OH), who came off the bench to finish with 21 points on 5-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Point Guard Melissa Hersey (Cincinnati, OH) scored a career high 19 points while dishing out six assists. Kirsten Ruen (Columbus Grove, OH) turned in a solid performance scoring nine points to go along with seven rebounds. Cornerstone was led by Jenna Plewes, who finished with a game high 23 points in the loss.

 "This was a solid win for our program, said Head Coach Nathan Bellman." "I'm proud of the effort the team played with on the road against a very good Golden Eagle team."

Ohio Dominican, 3-4, will return to action on Friday, December 5^th, when they will return to Alumni Hall for their Second Annual ODU Classic. The Panthers will play UC-Clermont in the second game Friday night starting at 8 p.m.