Tiffin, Ohio – January 19, 2011 – The Heidelberg University men’s basketball team fell to Ohio Athletic Conference foe John Carroll University 87-82 this evening in Seiberling Gymnasium. This setback drops the Berg 7-9 overall and 5-4 in the OAC, while JCU improves to 11-5 and 6-3.
The Blue Steaks and the Student Princes battled through six ties on the evening. Starting the game was a free throw by Darion Capers (Dayton, Ohio / Trotwood-Madison) followed by a jumper by Dane Givner ( Pittsburgh, Pa. / Harvest Preparatory). Another basket by Capers brought the Berg back to their first tie with 13:47 left in the half. With a three-pointer by Givner, Heidelberg gained a tie with three minutes left in the opening half. JCU scored 10 unanswered points to end the half to hold a 47-37lead at the intermission.
Coming out of the locker room, the Blue Streaks increased its lead to 14 points, 57-43, with a layup by Kenny Janz. Heidelberg battled back and took the lead, 72-71, following two from the charity stripe by Derrick Flynn (Cleveland, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) with less than seven minutes on the clock. After two lead changes, JCU came out on top at the final horn, 87-82.
Capers led the Berg with a career-high 24 points and seven rebounds. Also scoring in double figures was Givner with 15 points, to go along with six rebounds, and Flynn with 10 points. Nate Davis (Dayton, Ohio / Stivers) brought down 10 rebounds and added seven points with three steals. Collectively, the Berg went 33-for-64 from the field and 11-for-19 from the line.
For the Blue Streaks, Corey Shontz led the team with 15 points, six rebounds and five steals. Backing Shontz was Conor Tilow with 13 points and six rebounds. The team went 32-63 from the field and 18-25 from the free throw line.
The Berg is back in action on Saturday for another OAC contest at Wilmington College. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.