WILMINGTON, Ohio - Leading 26-18 with five minutes to play in the first half, Heidelberg University ended the period on a 14-0 run that but put the game way as the Student Princes coasted to an 86-60 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) win over the Wilmington College men's basketball team at Fred Raizk Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Student Princes scored on their first two possessions, but the Fightin' Quakers answered with six free throws and a basket from Jayden Lewis to take a slim 8-7 advantage at the 12:35 mark. Heidelberg answered with a 10-0 run of its own over the next three minutes forcing a timeout from Wilmington Head Coach K.C. Hunt. The visitors would build on that lead over the next six minutes, but the hosts stayed in striking distance as two Jeffery Mansfield free throws with 7:22 to play in the half made the score 24-16.
Then came the Heidelberg run that would give the Student Princes a 22-point halftime lead. Over the final seven-plus minutes of the half, Heidelberg scored 16 points and allowed just two - on two Collmann Aaron free throws with five minutes to play - to build a 40-18 halftime lead. Wilmington, which made only 4-of-22 field goals in the first 20 minutes, would get as close as 13 points (50-37) on a Lewis triple 14:02 to play, but wouldn't get close.
Heidelberg finished 34-of-74 (45.9 percent) from the field to go along with eight triples and a 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) performance from the free throw line. The Student Princes won the rebounding battle 45-37, doubled the Quakers in points in the paint and scored 20 fastbreak points while the hosts had two. Wilmington made 21-of-61 (34.4 percent) from the field with six triples and 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
Individually, Emmanuel Perdue led all scorers with 21 points while Zane Leitwein had 14 and Dylan Woods added 13 with five assists. Eric Panning grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for the Berg. Wilmington was led by Lewis's career-best 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting while Jeffery Mansfield had 14 points. Noah Dado had eight points and 11 rebounds in just over 18 minutes played.
The Quakers return to action at Capital University on Wednesday. Taip-off from the Capital Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.