BEXLEY – The Heidelberg University men's basketball team continued their solid play towards the end of the regular season on Wednesday as they defeated Capital 75-73 on the road. The Student Princes trailed by a pair with under two minutes to play, but a couple of clutch 3-pointers by Kiere' Bennie and Marcquice Taylor gave HU the lead for good as they held on for a big road victory.

With the win, Heidelberg improved to 13-11 on the year, including an 8-9 record in the OAC while Capital fell to 12-12 (8-9 OAC).

KEY STATS

Kiere Bennie was phenomenal on offense for Heidelberg, as he shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point arc, and was 1-for-1 from the free throw line as he scored a team-high 15 points for the Student Princes.

Heidelberg had to overcome 19 turnovers in the game, but they shot an even 50% (29-58) from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range as they held on for the road victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After the game stayed very close early on, Heidelberg finally found some separation when DeAvery Collins buried a jumper to make the score 19-11 in favor of the Berg with 11:09 to play.

Capital would then answer with a 15-5 run to take a 26-24 lead with 5:55 remaining in the first half.

Heidelberg was able to regain the lead with under two minutes to play when Collins made a 3-pointer to give HU a 35-34 edge, but the Crusaders were able to enter halftime with a 39-37 lead.

It did not take long for the Berg to regain the lead in the second half, as back-to-back buckets by Myron Prewitt made it a 41-39 advantage for HU.

The game continued to be a nailbiter, but Heidelberg was able to open up a six point lead with 11:55 remaining after a jumper by Bennie made the score 54-48.

After the Student Princes clung to that lead for a bit, Capital was able to fight back to take the lead, as they held a 66-63 edge at the 4:56 mark.

Heidelberg rallied back to tie up the game with around two minutes to play, but a pair of free throws for the Crusaders gave them a 71-69 lead with 1:51 remaining. That was where Bennie and Taylor nailed back-to-back clutch treys as Heidelberg took a 75-71 lead with just 24 seconds left in the game.

After Capital made a pair of free throws to make it a two point game, Taylor missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Capitals attempt to win the game in the final seconds missed as Heidelberg escaped with a win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

This win over Capital completed the regular-season sweep of the Crusaders for the Berg, which is the first time they have accomplished that feat since the 1996-97 season.

OAC TOURNAMENT SNAPSHOT

The win by Heidelberg moves them into a tie with Capital for 6th place in the conference with one game left to play. The Student Princes trail both ONU and Baldwin Wallace by one game, but fell to both of them twice in the regular season, which is the first tiebreaker. If Heidelberg were to lose to Otterbein on Saturday and Capital were to defeat Baldwin Wallace on the road, Heidelberg would travel to John Carroll for the first round of the OAC Tournament on Tuesday. In any other scenario, the Student Princes would head to Mount Union.

UP NEXT

Heidelberg will travel to Otterbein (4-20, 2-15) on Saturday for their final game of the regular season. That game is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. in Westerville.