Box Score TIFFIN – It wasn't pretty, but the No. 20 Heidelberg University men's basketball team battled their way to a 73-62 victory over Muskingum University on Saturday.

Four Student Princes ended scoring double digits, led by Seth Hohman's 16 point effort. Isaiah Young added 12 while Zane Leitwein had 11. Tre Watkins contributed 10 in the world.

Heidelberg (8-1, 4-0 OAC) started off hot, going 3-3 from beyond the arc thanks to two from Hohman and one from Watkins. After establishing a 15-point lead, the Student Princes grew cold -- shooting 17.6% from deep in the first half. 

After adding a press, the only points Heidelberg managed to score were seven free throws and two layups in the last nine minutes of the half. Of the eight turnovers by Muskingum (0-9, 0-4 OAC), the hosts managed to convert five steals into ten points. 

Action intensified as Zaveon Croff and Logan Stotzer of Muskingum nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to tie it up 23-23 with 2:44 left. Each team laid away one more to close the half 30-30 — Heidelberg's lowest scoring first half since their season opener (27 vs UW-Whitewater). 

After a spotty start to the second half, Heidelberg managed to outscore their opponents 25-14 in the first ten minutes. In four consecutive possessions, Leitwein, Young and Hohman all sank one from deep. Meanwhile, Eric Panning found a slam dunk off of a Emmanuel Perdue assist (58-44). 

Muskingum first brought the gap within seven at 7:35 after a 8-1 run over HU. They whittled their way to six, the closest of the half, with 2:23 remaining. Young put any hopes of victory to rest by drilling a 3-pointer from the corner for a nine-point lead. Watkins closed out the day with an easy layup for the 73-62 triumph. 

A quiet day for Perdue, he tallied six points while adding six assists. Panning added five rebounds of his own and eight points. 

Muskingum managed to out-rebound Heidelberg 32-29, while the home team picked up 12 steals off of the 21 Musky turnovers. 

Heidelberg will return to the court on Dec.29 as they travel to Wooster for a two-day tournament against Carnegie Mellon and Wooster.