Last Second Shot by Szalay Gives Heidelberg the Win
It was a shaky start for the Heidelberg College Student Princes, who gave up eight straight points to Ohio Northern University to start the game. The Berg even trailed by as much as 17 points during the first half, but the team never gave up, winning the contest 72-70.
Eight seconds remained on the clock when Heidelberg’s Matt Eberle (Grove City, Ohio / Central Crossing) turned the ball over and Kurtis Brown broke to the hoop to drop in a lay-up for Ohio Northern, tying the game 70-70. Wanting to end the game once and for all, Shawn Shriver (Bellevue, Ohio / Western Reserve) hustled down the court and passed the ball to Chad Szalay (Lorain, Ohio / Clearview) who made the game-winning jumper with one second left in the game.
The team's comeback actually began with five minutes left in the first and Heidelberg down 31-14, Brian Schmidt (Hinckley, Ohio / Brunswick) went on a scoring frenzy, netting 10 straight points for the Berg. Andrew Lemmon (Port Clinton, Ohio / Port Clinton) snuck in a lay-up right before Schmidt managed to hit two free throws to end the half. Heidelberg still trailed, however, 39-28.
The hot streak continued as the Student Princes came back out onto the floor and racked up seven more points before being answered by ONU’s Kyle Meyer. He hit a jumper to put the score at 41-35 in favor of the Polar Bears. With just under 12 minutes left in the game, Heidelberg finally took the lead. Lemmon dropped in a jumper off an assist from Shriver to put the Berg up 47-45. ONU immediately tied the game back up, but the Berg retook the lead soon after.
Heidelberg fans were on their feet as the lead flip-flopped with just under a minute to go. With 16 seconds left on the clock, Heidelberg in front 69-68 and the ball in ONU’s hands, Greg Tyson Jr. (Lima, Ohio / Lima Senior) stood his ground and took a charging foul from the Ohio Northern’s Sam Bastian. Heidelberg retook possession of the ball, but as soon as they passed it inbounds Shriver was fouled by ONU’s Kyle Gehle. He made one of the resulting two shots, placing the Berg up 70-68. This led to the final heroics by Szalay in the last ten seconds of the game.
It is the first time since Jan. 6, 1999 that Heidelberg has beaten Ohio Northern. The Student Princes broke a 17-game losing streak versus their Ohio Athletic Conference opponent in dramatic fashion.
Leading the way for the Berg was Schmidt, who recorded his first double-double of the season by scoring 24 points and retrieving 13 rebounds. Szalay contributed two steals to the Heidelberg defense, while Lemmon and Tyson each recorded a block.
Gehle racked up 23 points for the Polar Bears and Brown added six assists to the team’s offensive stats for the night. Meyer reached up for a team-high nine rebounds.
The win places Heidelberg at 5-1 and ONU at 4-3 overall; both teams stand at 1-1 in the OAC. Heidelberg tips off next away at Mount Union on Saturday, December 8. The game is set to start at 6:00p.m.