TIFFIN – A large lead that was held for much of the second half had diminished for Heidelberg. Wittenberg had tied up the game and had all the momentum on their side.

In stepped Isaac Everette.

The sophomore did not allow the game to head to overtime, as he nailed a 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds remaining in the game, sending the Heidelberg fans home happy with a 73-70 win over the visiting Tigers.  The Student Princes improved to 7-4 with the victory while Wittenberg fell to 6-3.

KEY STATS

Outside of his game-winning bucket, Everette still had an outstanding night for the Student Princes. He scored a season-high 27 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the win. The sophomore transfer made just one 3-pointer in the game, which turned out to be the difference for the Student Princes.

Heidelberg was out-rebounded 43-33 by Wittenberg and gave up 36 points to the Tigers in the paint, but they were just able to hold on in the end after giving away a lead that was as large as 13 in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a slow start for both teams offensively, Heidelberg took their first lead after Jordan Bradley buried a 3-pointer at the 14:58 mark, giving HU a 5-4 edge.

The Student Princes were able to hold onto a small lead until Kiere' Bennie caught fire and nailed back-to-back treys, making it a 22-14 lead for the Berg with 6:48 remaining in the first half.

Heidelberg was able to stretch their lead to as many as 12, but the Tigers were able to cut it down to eight at halftime (30-22).

After Wittenberg was able to pull within three early in the second half, the Student Princes were able to build their lead all the way out to 13 with 9:13 to play.

Heidelberg held on to their lead down the stretch and led by six with under a minute to go, but then Wittenberg was able to find a way to chip away at the lead. A costly turnover by the Berg with 19 seconds left gave the Tigers just the opportunity they needed, as a layup cut the HU lead to just 1.

Everette made a pair of free throws after a foul on the inbounds, but Wittenberg's Jalen Williams promptly banked in a 3-pointer from straight away to tie up the game at 70 with under 10 seconds remaining.

With time running out, Bennie found Everette open in the corner, and he nailed the game winner right in front of the Heidelberg bench.

QUOTES

Sophomore Isaac Everette on the game-winner: "First, I have to say thanks to Kiere (Bennie), because he made a great pass, and without him, I wouldn't have been able to make the shot. It was an open shot. Kiere had two guys on him and I was wide open, so I just took the open shot."

Everette on the impact of this victory: "It's a great win and now we can go on the break and have a little momentum going into the next practice. It feels really good."

Head coach Andy Bucheit on the final play: "The left side of the floor was open and we felt confident that Isaac or DeAvery (Collins) would be able to get a good shot if they sucked in and helped off, so we felt good about what we had. The guys executed it very well."

Bucheit on Isaac Everette : "We were really happy when we got him. He averaged almost 16 points a game at a Division I junior college in Atlanta. He comes from a high-character family and is a high-character guy who works really hard. I knew he was going to have a breakout game at some point for us. He's a special player."

UP NEXT

Heidelberg will be off until after the New Year when they travel to No. 16 Mount Union on January 6th. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. in Alliance.