TIFFIN, Ohio -- Playing in front of fans -- honest-to-goodness fans -- for the first time all season, the Heidelberg University men's basketball team gutted out a seven-point win over gritty Wilmington College on Senior Night.  In the stands, the families of Dylan Woods, Logan West-Holmes, Bailey Croft and Alex Arellano watched as the Student Princes got up big early, lost momentum, then regained composure to win, 69-62.  

Woods led the Student Princes with 16 points, and was one of five in double-figures for the Student Princes.  

Arellano added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds.  Also with 12 points, Emmanuel Perdue livened up the gym with a monstrous blocked shot.  

Nakhi Taylor added 11 points while reserve Zane Leitwein hit two big 3-pointers and finished with 10 points.  

Heidelberg began the game with a 9-0 run and looked set to take a commanding lead early in the contest. 

After a timeout, the Quakers returned to competition with a full-court press. Heidelberg was caught off guard and its offense struggled in the following minutes. Wilmington went on a 21-5 run to take a 21-14 lead with 10:59 remaining in the half. The run started off 11-0 for the Quakers as they fought back from the early deficit. 

The Student Princes used a timeout to collect themselves and regrouped with an 8-2 run, bringing the score to 23-22 in favor of the visitors with 5:56 remaining in the half. 

Heidelberg battled to tie the score by halftime at 28, with four points from Taylor in the final four minutes of the half. 

The Quakers took a 37-34 lead with 16 minutes remaining after a 5-0 run from the visitors. Later, Heidelberg used a 6-0 run to retake the lead 40-37.  Back-to-back scoring plays from Bilal Sow gave the Quakers a 42-40 lead over Heidelberg with 13:44 remaining in the half. 

 A 15-7 run from the Student Princes brought the score to 55-49 in favor of Heidelberg with 8:33 remaining. Leitwein led the run with eight points, scoring two 3-pointers -- one from each corner. 

After three minutes of even scoring, Heidelberg created a 5-0 run to take a 66-56 lead with 2:26 remaining. The run lasted two minutes and was led by Woods with three points in the stretch. 

Undeterred, Wilmington responded with two 3-pointers to negate the run, both assisted by Mansfield, Heidelberg maintained a 66-62 lead with two minutes remaining. 

With 1:10 remaining, a Woods steal led to a 3-point play by Taylor with a quick layup which drew a foul. Despite missing the front end of three one-and-ones, Heidelberg held onto the seven-point cushion and won, 69-62.

Rebounds were even at 35, but Heidelberg held a 40-22 scoring edge in the paint.  

With one game to play in the regular season, the race for the top seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament -- and the regular season crown -- has come down to Heidelberg and No. 9 Marietta.  Seeding for the tournament is a combination of win percentage (two thirds) and opponent's win percentage in games not including your own.  The Pioneers held a .003 lead on HU entering Friday, but padded the lead with a win over Ohio Northern.  A 'Berg win coupled with a Marietta loss would still likely not be enough for HU to overtake the Pioneers.  

The regular season concludes on Saturday as the Berg and the Quakers reunite for another contest.  The game is slated for a 6 p.m. start.