ADA -- Heidelberg University men's basketball's push for a home tournament game took a major hit with a 70-53 loss at Ohio Northern University on Wednesday.  A second-half slump doomed the Student Princes in the loss.  

Heidelberg dropped to 10-14 overall, 8-9 in the OAC.  With only one game remaining in the regular season, The Berg is clustered in a large group in the middle of the standings.  Mount Union and Marietta have clinched the top two seeds. At 9-8 in conference, Baldwin Wallace and John Carroll have a leg up on the next two slots -- which would include a home tournament game.  Capital, Wilmington and HU -- all sitting at 8-9 -- need to win and get help if they want to host a game.  

Tamal Watkins led Heidelberg with 11 points and five rebounds.  Dylan Woods also reached double figures with 10 points.  

With injuries to their front court piling up, Heidelberg was out-rebounded 44-28.  

The first half proved to be the epitome of a back-and-forth battle that featured a largest lead of the half at just six points by either team. Both teams shot well from the floor in the first half as The Berg converted 39% of their shots in the first half and ONU knocked down 46% of their attempts. 

Late in the half, Heidelberg found themselves trailing by six after a Thomas Phillips layup with 2:51 left on the clock. The Student Princes remained calm and closed the gap to just two at the halftime buzzer after Dylan Woods cashed in on a 3-pointer after a feed from Curt Jacobs. Then, as time wound down, an Austin Allemeier foul gave the Student Princes an inbound with three seconds on the clock. On the inbound, Tamal Watkins converted a jumper at the buzzer. 

The Watkins basket brought the halftime score to just 33-31 in favor of the host Polar Bears.  

In the second half, it seemed as every time the Student Princes got within striking distance an ONU flurry would halt any potential 'Berg momentum. As ONU built out an eight point lead early in the second half, the Berg clawed away. Eventually, a 3-pointer off the hands of Nakhi Taylor closed the gap to 41-38 with 16:06 remaining in the game. 

Once again, though, ONU pulled away on a 10-2 run that created an 11 point gap. However, as had been the case for much of the game, Heidelberg found ways to trim the deficit. Josh Dixon and Dylan Woods combined for five points on back-to-back possessions before Logan West-Holmes added a free throw to close the scoreline to 51-46. The brief respite of offense for The Berg was halted by a made layup from CJ Napier.

From the Napier bucket, Northern embarked on one of their second half runs and this time, managed to take a 17 point lead via a 16-4 run over a seven-minute span.  The Polar Bears cruised to the victory.  

ONU was led by a 17-point night off the bench by Landen Long.  

Heidelberg will continue their battle for final OAC placements for the postseason tournament with a home game this Saturday vs. No. 16 Marietta College. Prior to the 3 p.m. tipoff, the Student Princes will recognize seniors from the basketball, cheerleading and athletic training programs as part of Senior Day celebrations.