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Nov. 25, 2007
It took until the 7th game of the season, but The University of Northwestern Ohio Racers captured their first NAIA Division II victory in the history of the program. The UNOH Racers defeated The University of Miami-Middletown 116-102 in double overtime in the consolation game of the Ohio Dominican Thanksgiving Tournament. Twice it looked as though the Racers were going to win, only to have the Thunderhawks drain a shot at the buzzer to extend the game. For the entire first half, neither team grabbed a lead larger than 5 points. The Racers went into half trailing by 1. UNOH came out the second half and put on a scoring display as they took a 10 point lead with under 7 minutes remaining in the contest. A 7-0 run by the Thunderhawks in the closing minutes made yet another nail biter for the Racers. With UNOH up 1 with :11 seconds remaining, Josh Vorst went to line and could only connect on 1 of 2 free throws letting Greg Tillman of the Thunderhawks make a jumper with no time remaining. In the first overtime, the Racers jumped out to a 6 point lead, but once again were only up 1 with :14 seconds remaining, and this time Jason Sarno could only connect on 1 of 2, setting up another heartbreaking shot by Delvin Terry of the Thunderhawks. In the second overtime, it was all Racers. UNOH jumped out quickly with consecutive three point plays by Josh Vorst and Jason Sarno, who also led the double overtime attack. Sarno had 10 and Vorst 5 of the 17 total double overtime points. The UNOH Racers celebrated their first victory of the season and the first victory in Racer history. A victory wasn't the only history made on Saturday, November 24th. Jason Sarno and Josh Vorst helped pace the free throw attack as the team set the new UNOH record for most free throws attempted and made in a game. The Racers attempted 50 free throws, 49 was the previous record against Shawnee State back in 1981. The Racers also made 36 free throws, which the previous record was 31 which were also against Shawnee State, but in a game from 1983. Jason Sarno is also the first Racer to make the UNOH record books as an individual. Sarno connected on 17-21 free throws for the game. Breaking both records held by Al Kaufman who was 15-19 in the game against Shawnee State in 1981. The game had high scoring on both sides as Josh Vorst led the Racers with a season high 36 points. Jason Sarno followed right behind with his season high of 34 points. Isaac Bowers and Kyle Gillette rounded out the scoring with 18 and 14. Brandon Miller performed well with 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Bowers and Sarno had 5 and 4 steals to help seal the first victory. The victory moves the Racers to 1-6 on the season and the loss puts the Thunderhawks at 5-3. The Racers will be back in action this Tuesday night as they travel to Mount Vernon Nazarene University with a tip off time set for 7:30 PM. The UNOH Racers also competed Friday night against the host school Ohio Dominican University. The Racers fell to ODU 70-58. Poor shooting along with being outrebounded cost the Racers at a chance for victory over the Panthers. Leading the way for the Racers was Josh Vorst and his 17 points. Jason Sarno also had 10 points as they were the only Racers in double figures. Donovan DeLong came off the bench to chip in 8 points for UNOH. The Racers fell to 0-6 after the contest and the Panthers moved to 3-1. |
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