Late Run Falls Short

The Heidelberg University men’s basketball team suffered a 71-68 setback to Muskingum College today in an Ohio Athletic Conference contest in Seiberling Gymnasium. Today’s contest marked the final home game for senior Jake Hessey (Crestline, Ohio / Colonel Crawford).
 
Heidelberg closes out its regular season with an overall record of 8-17 and a 5-13 mark versus league foes, which places the Berg eighth in the final league standings. Muskingum stands at 13-12 overall and 10-8 in the OAC, which gives them a fifth-place finish.
 
Heidelberg has earned a spot in the eight-team OAC Tournament based on its regular season finish. John Carroll University posted a 16-2 record in the OAC to win the regular season title and earn the number one seed. The Berg faces John Carroll in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday, Feb. 25 beginning at 7:30 p.m. It is the third-straight year that the Berg has made it to the postseason.
 
Heidelberg trailed by 14 points, 58-44, with 8:15 left in the contest. Heidelberg responded with a 12-0 run to pull within two points, 58-56, with 4:03 on the clock. During the run, Heidelberg connected on three from long range and Hessey made his trey a four-point play.
 
The tides turned on two more occasions before the game was knotted at 65-65 with 1:02 left. Muskingum put four-straight points on the board before Josh Calver (Shelby, Ohio / Shelby) drove the length of the floor and sank a trey with three seconds remaining to pull within one, 69-68. The Muskies hit two from the charity stripe to push the final score to 71-68. Hessey got a desperation three off that hit the rim and bounced twice and missed in an effort to force overtime.
 
In the first half, Heidelberg opened up with a 5-0 lead before Muskingum battled back to tie the game at 7-7 just under five minutes of action. Muskingum overtook the scoreboard on its next possession and extended its lead to as many as 13 points, 30-17, with 5:32 to play before halftime and held on for a 36-25 lead at the break.
 
For the game, Heidelberg shot 41.7 percent (20-for-40) compared to a 51.1 clip (23-of-45) by the visitors. The Berg held a 28-24 advantage on the glass.
 
Travis Kinn (Alvada, Ohio / New Riegel) paced three players in double figures with 18 points and shared team honors with Calver with seven rebounds apiece. Hessey finished the day with 13 points, while Jim Smalley (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Midpark) added 11. Calver dished out a game-high five assists.
 
Leading four in double figures for the Muskies was Trevor Scott with 21 points followed by Tyler Felt with 19 points and nine rebounds.