Johnson Tough; Purdue Northwest Men Fall to Ohio Dominican, 92-64

Johnson Tough; Purdue Northwest Men Fall to Ohio Dominican, 92-64
Hillsdale, Mich. – Senior Torrence Johnson (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) had 20 points and game-high 14 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Purdue Northwest men’s basketball team fell to Ohio Dominican University Tuesday in the opening game of the Hillside Lanes Thanksgiving Classic at Potter Arena in Hillsdale, Mich.  The Pride hit just 34 percent (22-for-64) of their shots from the field in the non-conference loss.

Sophomore Lukas Vilkovsky (Kosice, Slovakia) scored 13 points for PNW Tuesday, while junior Chandler Spring (Covington, Ind./Covington) added 10 points.  The Panthers were solid offensively hitting 53 percent (37-for-70) of their shot attempts and scored 50 of their points inside the paint.  Turnovers were a factor as well with the Pride committing 15 compared to just six by ODU.

Purdue Northwest got off to a nice start with a jumper by senior Tyree Coe (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) putting the Pride up 10-6 near the 16-minute mark of the first half.  A lay-up by freshman Richard Robertson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Fort Wayne Northrup) at the midpoint of the half kept the early four-point advantage intact at 23-19. 

However, Ohio Dominican went on a 17-7 run to build a 36-30 lead with five minutes remaining in the period.  With 4:19 left, Spring converted on a lay-up to pull PNW within a pair, 36-34, but back-to-back three-pointers by the Panthers pushed the lead up to eight.  Spring hit a trey at the end of the half to close the gap to four, 49-45, at the break.

The Pride got off to a slow start in the second half scoring only two points in the first five minutes of action to fall behind, 58-47.  A three-pointer by Richardson trimmed the deficit to seven (60-53) at the 13:31 mark, but ODU scored 14 unanswered points over the next four minutes to take control for good, 74-53.    

Purdue Northwest (0-3 overall) finish up play in the Hillside Lanes Thanksgiving Classic on Wednesday, November 22, with a game against host Hillsdale College (Mich.).  The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. CT tip at Potter Arena in Hillsdale.