Ada, Ohio – January 5, 2011 – Sophomore Dane Givner (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Harvest Preparatory) led three in double figures with a season-high 23 points as the Heidelberg University men’s basketball team shot its season-best 55% from the court en route to a 67-63 victory over Ohio Northern University.
The win earns Heidelberg its first regular season victory over OAC rival Ohio Northern since the 2007-08 season when it won 72-70. It’s the first regular season win on ONU’s home court since the 1996-97 season when Heidelberg topped the Polar Bears 80-74 in overtime.
Heidelberg shot out of the gates with an early 12-2 run. Berg had its largest lead of 34-21 with 2:06 remaining in the first half.
ONU finally got within one point (49-48) with 7:59 left in the game when Jason Faykash scored on a fastbreak lay-up, which marked its smallest margin since the game was tied 2-2.
At the 2:42 mark, ONU Joe Staley scored a jumper to giver the Polar Bears its first 58-57 lead of the game.
On the ensuing possession, Derrick Flynn (Cleveland, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) found Givner for a trey putting Heidelberg right back in the driver’s seat.
Down 65-62 with four seconds left in regulation, ONU’s Tony Meyer was off the mark with a long-range attempt.
After Heidelberg’s two missed free throws, the Polar Bears with 1.19 seconds on the clock went to the charity stripe. Jared Horstman made the first and ONU would be called for a lane violation on the second shot ending its chances.
Givner made it a two-possession game with two clutch free throws with one second remaining.
Following Givner on offense was senior Kyle Tuley (Berea, Ohio / Berea) with 12 points. Tuley connected 6-for-7 from the court. Junior Darion Capers (Dayton, Ohio / Trotwood-Madison) added 11 points to the Berg’s effort.
Capers and Tuley led on the glass with six boards apiece, while Givner added four to go along with a team-high four assists. Sophomore Nate Davis (Dayton, Ohio / Stivers) contributed with a game-high four rejections and four rebounds to go along with his six points.