Balanced Scoring Sends 'Berg Streaking into OAC Final Four
Six players reached double figures to lead the No. 2 seeded Heidelberg College men’s basketball team to a 104-74 win over No. 7 seed John Carroll University tonight in a quarterfinal game of the 2008 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.
The win extends Heidelberg’s winning streak to six games and earns the Berg a spot in the Final Four against No 6 seeded Baldwin-Wallace College on Friday at Capital University. For the year Heidelberg, under the guidance of sixth-year head coach Duane Sheldon, stands at 21-5 overall, while John Carroll concludes its season at 11-14.
Leading the way for Heidelberg was Andrew Lemmon (Port Clinton, Ohio / Port Clinton) with 18 points, including 15 points from long range, while Chad Szalay (Lorain, Ohio / Clearview) finished with 16. Jake Hessey (Crestline, Ohio / Colonel Crawford) and Greg Tyson Jr. (Lima, Ohio / Lima Senior) each come off the bench to score 14 and 11 points, respectively. Shawn Shriver (Bellevue, Ohio / Western Reserve) chipped in with 14 points, while Brian Schmidt (Hinckley, Ohio / Brunswick) rounded out six in the double digits with 10 points. Schmidt also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Tyson and Schmidt each turned away three shots apiece, while Josh Calver (Shelby, Ohio / Shelby) continues to lead the Berg offense gracefully, dishing out six assists on the evening.
Heidelberg opened the game with four-straight three-pointers and rode 11 points from Lemmon over the first five minutes to take control early at 18-8. Of his 11 points in the first five minutes, Lemmon sank three of his five three-pointers. Heidelberg extended its lead to 22 points, 32-10, following a Jim Smalley (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Midpark) lay up and the game had not reached the midway point of the opening half of action.
The Berg continued its fast-paced scoring half with a Szalay three with 8:08 on the clock to take its largest lead of the half, 42-12. JCU battled back, to pull within 18 points, only to see the Berg respond and Szalay hit a trey as the half expired to hold a 58-30 lead at the break.
The first half saw the Berg shoot .618 percent (21-of-34) from the field, including a 9-of-17 showing from behind the arc. The visitors were held to just a .375 clip (12of-32) in the first period.
John Carroll scored first in the second period, but Szalay answered with another three-pointer to quiet any threat the Blue Streaks were attempting. Heidelberg’s defense stood tall, allowing John Carroll to pull within just 19 points, 73-54, with 10:12 left in the game. The Berg went on to lead by as many as 35 points before the final buzzer sounded with Heidelberg posting a 104-74 win.