Heidelberg Falls in OAC Match Up
The Heidelberg College men’s basketball team fell to Ohio Northern University 89-72 this evening. The loss drops the Berg down to 14-4 overall, 8-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while ONU moves up to 11-4 for the season, 7-4 in conference play.
It was a slow start for the Berg, ONU held the lead well through the first half, though the Student Princes went ahead 24-23 at right about the seven minute mark thanks to a jumper from Chad Szalay (Lorain, Ohio / Clearview). However, the celebration was short lived; the Polar Bears quickly came back and retained the lead for the rest of the game.
The first half ended with Ohio Northern up 36-33, the closest to being in reach of the lead Berg would come for the rest of the game. ONU pulled away early in the second half and never looked back. The biggest deficit of the night for Heidelberg came with just 1:30 left to play when the Polar Bears pulled ahead 87-68, a 19 point margin.
Szalay led the offense for Heidelberg with 24 points on the evening, followed by Josh Calver (Shelby, Ohio / Shelby) with 10. Brian Schmidt (Hinckley, Ohio / Brunswick) contributed nine rebounds to the effort, along with three assists. Meanwhile, Jake Cannan snagged a double-double for the Polar Bears by combining 18 points with 11 boards. Kyle Gehle led the team with 24 points, while Kurtis Brown dished out eight assists.
Heidelberg plays Mount Union College next Saturday, February 2, in a 3 p.m. contest at home.