TIFFIN -- A sizzling start and three sensational second-half slams lifted the No. 19 Heidelberg University men's basketball team to their seventh consecutive win -- an 87-66 victory over visiting Capital University.  The Student Princes raced out to a 23-6 lead in the first 10 minutes, then poured it on after halftime.  

Emmanuel Perdue, who had a thunderous dunk during a frenzied portion of the second half, led Heidelberg with 21 points.  Dylan Woods hit four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points and four assists. 

Eric Panning had the other two crowd-pleasing dunks -- including a reverse slam on a fast break -- and tallied his second career double-double.  He recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds.  

Zane Leitwein (13 points, nine rebounds) and Isaiah Young (12 points) also finished in double figures. 

The Comets (8-5, 3-3 OAC) missed their first five shots and trailed 11-0 after five minutes of action.  Heidelberg (11-1, 6-0), on the other hand, was 9-for-14 in the first 10 minutes … with Perdue notching eight.  

Capital got hot and The Berg went cold over the next seven minutes which allowed the visitors to crawl back into the contest.  Joe Thompson, who finished with a game-high 22 points, hit a 3-pointer with 3:20 left in the half that got CAP to within six at 27-21.  

Undaunted, Heidelberg closed the half on a modest 8-2 run, taking a 35-23 lead into the locker room.  

The Student Princes decimated the Comets in the paint in the second half, outsourcing them 30-8 in the half (54-14 for the game).  

Panning's first dunk put HU up 58-42 at the 10:45 mark.  Leitwein drove into the key and kicked the ball to Panning along the baseline. The 6-9 sophomore powered it home with two hands.  

Minutes later, Perdue took the ball in the right corner, drove the baseline past a defender, then slammed the ball with a picturesque left-handed dunk.  

After a missed shot by Capital, Woods corralled the rebound and hit Panning streaking down the court with a foul line to foul line outlet pass.  There, the Columbus native nonchalantly buried it with a reverse jam.   

The dunks came as part of a jaw-dropping 11-0 run that spanned a mere 1:57 of action.  

Heidelberg kept their intensity up and built a lead as big as 27 and cruised to the win.  

With the win, the Student Princes officially move to 6-0 in the OAC.  On Tuesday, OAC presidents unanimously voted to revamp the league's COVID protocols for missed games.  Retroactive to the start of the season, any league contest that is unable to be played because one or both schools are in COVID protocols will be a no-contest. Original rules saddled the COVID team with a loss.  As such, the Heidelberg/John Carroll game scheduled for Jan. 5 is no longer considered a 'Berg win.  

Basketball fans around the region will be focused on the Ban Johnson Arena at Marietta on Saturday.  There, the No. 8 Pioneers host the No. 19 Student Princes in the second half of a women's/men's doubleheader.  Tipoff of the women's game is scheduled for 2 p.m., with the men's game set to start 30 minutes after the conclusion.