Panning Dunks
Morgan Kocher
69
Ohio Northern ONU 9-7,3-6 OAC
77
Winner Heidelberg HEID 11-5,7-2 OAC
Ohio Northern ONU
9-7,3-6 OAC
69
Final
77
Heidelberg HEID
11-5,7-2 OAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ohio Northern ONU 20 49 69
Heidelberg HEID 34 43 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MBB stops Polar Bears in their tracks

TIFFIN -- Freezing temperatures couldn't cool the action on Sayger-Hill Court inside Seiberling Gymnasium as the Heidelberg University men's basketball team defeated Ohio Northern 77-69. With this victory, the Student Princes improved to 11-5 overall and 7-2 in the OAC.

Heidelberg came out firing, with Manny Hill opening the scoring and propelling the team to a commanding 6-0 lead within the first two minutes. Zane Leitwein's back-to-back buckets from deep sparked a 9-3 run, forcing an early Polar Bear timeout. Capitalizing on Ohio Northern's miscues, Heidelberg stretched their lead to 24-6, highlighted by a Markell Johnson-Nichols assist that set up a dynamic Eric Panning dunk.

The teams continued to trade blows, but it was all Berg at halftime, owning a 34-20 advantage.

The Polar Bears rallied early in the second half, narrowing the deficit to six points during a 14-6 run. However, the Student Princes responded with resilience. Leitwein knocked down two critical shots from beyond the arch, and Panning energized the crowd with another thunderous dunk as Heidelberg extend ed their lead back to double digits.

Ohio Northern made one last push, cutting the margin to eight with 4:10 left. Still, Heidelberg's stellar night at the free-throw line proved decisive. The team went 15-17 in the second half, with Hill and Leitwein combining for a flawless 8-for-8 from the stripe.

Eric Panning delivered a clutch performance in the final seconds, hitting two free throws and blocking a key shot to seal the victory. Johnson-Nichols capped the scoring with a pair of free throws, ensuring Heidelberg, securing the win over the Polar Bears.


Four of five starters charted double-digit points for Heidelberg. Eric Panning led both teams with 22 points and nine rebounds, and Leitwein went 4-6 from distance. As a team, Heidelberg shot 53.1% on the night, while chalking up 17 fast break points. The Berg dominated with 42 points in the paint, and collected 20 defensive rebounds.

Heidelberg kicks off the second half of conference play on the road against Muskingum on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m. The Student Princes look to avenge their home loss to the Muskies.
Print Friendly Version