Fifth year head coach Anthony Gholson and the Heidelberg University men’s basketball team entered their matchup with the Pioneers of Marietta College still searching for their first Ohio Athletic Conference victory. The Pioneers entered the contest unbeaten in OAC play and sitting in second in the OAC standings.
Despite two Student Princes scoring in double figures, the Berg remains winless in OAC competition, losing to the Pioneers, 75-63.
Senior Dane Givner (Pittsburgh, PA/Harvest Prep.) led the Berg in scoring, dropping 15 points while shooting four of four from the charity stripe. Givner also tallied five rebounds, three assists and one steal in the loss.
Senior Nate Davis (Dayton/Stivers) also scored in double figures for the Berg, recording 12 points against the Pioneers. Davis nearly recorded his fifth straight double-double, tallying a team-high eight rebounds against Marietta.
Freshman Ishaam Smith Jr. (Richmond Heights) scored nine points in the loss, with one assist and a team-high three steals.
Senior Lee Renner (Gibsonburg), and sophomores Doug Waldmannstetter (Oregon/Clay) and Ricky Slaughter (Shaker Heights/Cleveland Heights) each dropped six points off the bench for the Student Princes.
The Berg jumped out to a seven-point lead early in the game when Davis slammed in a dunk with just over 12 minutes to go in the half.
The Pioneers quickly chipped away at the Heidelberg lead eventually tying the game and taking a two-point lead with 8:33 left in the first half.
The Pioneers would extend their lead to 11 heading into the locker room at the half.
The second half began with Marietta’s J.J. Martin dropping a three-pointer. Martin would finish with a game-high 24 points, shooting ten of eleven from the floor, including a perfect two of two from beyond the arch and two of three from the free throw line.
The Pioneers led by as much as 24 in the second half, which would prove to be too much of a deficit to overcome for Gholson’s squad. The Student Princes would bring the deficit to 12 as time expired with a Waldmannstetter layup.
With the loss, the Heidelberg men move to 4-5 overall and 0-3 in the OAC.
The Heidelberg men return to the court on Saturday, December 22, when they travel to Wilmington, Ohio to play the Quakers of Wilmington College. Tipoff for the OAC matchup between the Quakers and the Berg is slated for 3:00 p.m.