Ohio Northern led throughout most of the half with its biggest lead of seven coming at 22-15 with 7:57 remaining. UW-L went on a 13-4 run to take a 28-26 lead with 2:39 left in the opening half before Ohio Northern took a 29-28 halftime lead.
The Polar Bears led 37-28 early in the second half when the Eagles cut the deficit to 37-34 with just under 15 minutes remaining. UW-L took a 49-48 lead with 9:15 left on a Joe Werner tip-in, but Ohio Northern used a 11-2 run to lead 59-51 with 5:16 remaining. The Polar Bears led by eight at 67-59 with 1:46 left before the Eagles later made it 70-67 with :37 on a three-point field goal from TJ Nereng. UW-L could get no closer than three the rest of the game as Ohio Northern hit three-of-four free throws in the final :22.
Werner led UW-L with his sixth double-double of the season, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Ask and Brandon Brown each scored 13 points while Chris Fehrenbach added 12. Ask and Brown each had three steals while Fehrenbach finished with six assists.
UW-L shot 51.0% from the field, including 50.0% (five-of-10) from three-point range. The Eagles were 13-of-17 (76.5%) at the free throw line.
Ask and Werner were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Tournament MVP Greg Badenhop led Ohio Northern with 26 points Saturday night. Kyle Gehle and Bart Hostetler each added 13 points. Ohio Northern shot 52.2% from the field, including 68.4% (13-of-19) in the second half. The Polar Bears were nine-of-23 (39.1%) from three-point range in the contest and 16-of-20 (80.0%) at the line.
UW-L returns to action Wednesday, January 3 hosting UW-Stout at 7 p.m.