Heidelberg Pulls Off Upset in Columbus
The Student Princes defeated no. 8 Capital University 80-74 on the Crusaders home court Wednesday evening. The Crusaders fall to 20-4 overall (15-2 OAC), while Heidelberg moves to 19-5 overall and at 13-4 in the OAC lock up second place and the no. 2 seed in next week's OAC Tournament where, for the first time since 2002, the men will host a tournament game.
The first half was a back and forth battle in which neither team led by more than five points. Capital took its largest lead of five at 11-6 on a jumper by Nate Stahl at the 15:42 mark. The Student Princes grabbed their largest lead of the half when a three-point basket by Josh Calver (Shelby, Ohio / Shelby) made the score 35-30 with two minutes remaining in the half, but Capital closed out the opening frame on a 7-2 run to send the game to a 37-37 tie at the halfway point.
The first seven and a half minutes of the first half saw four ties and four lead changes when Greg Tyson Jr. (Lima, Ohio / Lima Senior) hit a three-pointer with 12:29 remaining in the game that would give Heidelberg a lead, 55-53, that it would not relinquish the rest of the game. With the score at 71-61 in favor of the Berg with 5:58 remaining, Ryan Wood spirited a 9-0 Capital run with four free-throws, a lay-up, and a three-point basket to pull the Crusaders to within one point at 71-70, but Heidelberg would hold Capital to just four points the rest of the way to take the game 80-74.
Heidelberg was led by Shawn Shriver (Bellevue, Ohio / Western Reserve) and Tyson who each had a team-high 16 points, and Andrew Lemmon (Port Clinton, Ohio / Port Clinton) put up his eleventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 18 rebounds.
Five Crusaders managed double-digit scoring nights, led by Stahl who had 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting. D.J. Frazier, Quintin Mitchell, and Steve Kyser each chipped in 12 points, while junior Wood added 10.
Heidelberg will close out the regular season Saturday at 3:00 p.m. when they travel to Muskingum College.
Box Score