MARIETTA, Ohio — No. 3 seed Ohio Northern University shot 63% in the second half to upset second seeded Marietta College, 94-88, Thursday (Feb. 22) evening in the semifinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.

The Polar Bears (19-8 overall) advance into Saturday's championship game and will play at top-seeded John Carroll University, a 93-72 winner over Baldwin Wallace in the semifinals. The Pioneers (21-6) now wait to see if they receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced on Monday.

Senior Dillon Young led four Pioneers in double figures with 21 points. Kyle Dixon and Anthony Wallace each scored 14 points, while Avery Williams chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds. Mike Hall grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Nate Burger poured in 32 points to pace Ohio Northern. He drained five three-pointers and dished out four assists. Ryan Bruns finished with 20 points and Brandon Waugh had 11 points and seven boards.

Burger scored ONU's first 15 points of the game and single-handedly kept the Polar Bears in the game during the early going. Marietta opened up a seven point lead, 24-17, only to see Ohio Northern score eight straight points to go in front by one midway through the first half.

Following a jumper from Wallace that tied the game, 36-36, with 3:22 left in the first half, Waugh nailed a triple giving the Polar Bears the lead for good. Ohio Northern finished the half on an 8-3 run and led 44-39 at halftime.

ONU gradually increased its lead and held a 12-point advantage, 89-77, with one minute left in the game. Marietta got a pair of three-pointers from Wallace and another from Young and managed to get within four points, 92-88, with 11 seconds left on the clock. But Bruns hit two free throws to send Ohio Northern into the championship game.

For the game, Marietta shot 50.0% (35-of-70) from the floor, 41.4% (12-of-29) from three-point range and 60.0% (6-of-10) from the free throw line. The Polar Bears were 36-of-63 (57.1%) from the floor, 10-of-26 (38.5%) from behind the arc and 12-of-18 (66.7%) at the line.

Marietta edged Ohio Northern on the glass, 35-34. The Pioneers turned the ball over nine times, while the Polar Bears committed seven turnovers.