Quick Synopsis 
University Heights, Ohio -- The Heidelberg University men's basketball team defeated the Blue Streaks of John Carroll University, 69-53, to open the 2021 season. The first half saw back and forth action with the lead changing five times and Heidelberg holding the advantage at halftime 32-27. A 19-3 run to start the second half gave the Student Princes a 21-point lead with 12 minutes remaining in the contest. Alex Arellano led Heidelberg in scoring with 17 points, followed by Seth Hohman with 13. 

Three Stars   
Alex Arellano -- Despite a scoreless first half, the senior from Paulding, Ohio, recorded 17 points in the second half to lead the Student Princes in the scoring column on the evening. 

Defense -- Heidelberg's defense not only kept John Carroll from scoring but also created opportunities of its own with 14 steals and 18 points off turnovers. 

Emmanuel Perdue -- Manny had a team-high eight rebounds to go along with 10 points.

Full Recap
The Student Princes held a tight margin throughout the first half, where the lead changed five times in the first 20 minutes of competition. The largest lead of the first half was a five point advantage for Heidelberg coming with just six seconds remaining in the half after a score by Nahki Taylor. 

The advantage grew significantly in the second half thanks to a 19-3 run by the Student Princes through the first eight minutes of the half. During the hot start, Heidelberg was lethal in the lane -- scoring their first 10 points of the period on layups. 12 of the 19 points came from Purdue and Seth Hohman with six points each.

Midway through the second half, Arellano got hot.  He hit three 3-pointers in a 90-second span, the third of which ballooned HU's lead to 64-45.

With the game well in hand, the Student Princes were able to find minutes for a number of young players.  

In all, Heidelberg held the lead for over 27 minutes and led the shooting category with 41.5% accuracy. 

Three Takeaways
1. Heidelberg has won two consecutive season openers after losing their previous three openers.
2. The Student Princes won the battle in the paint, out-scoring the hosts 40-24.  HU held a narrow edge on the glass, 43-38.   
3. Neither team shot particularly well from long range.  HU was 7-21 (33.3%) and JCU was 6-29 (20.7%)

Inside the Box Score 
Freshmen Zane Leitwein and Nate Staib -- both out of Gahanna Lincoln -- contributed major minutes off the bench for Heidelberg.

HU grabbed 12 offensive boards, but was only able to muster four second-chance points.  

Heidelberg's aggressive defense helped the visitors finish with a 14-5 edge in steals

Up Next 
The Student Princes (1-0) will face off against John Carroll (0-1) again tomorrow evening for their first home game of the season.  Tipoff is at 6 p.m.

Photo courtesy of John Carroll Sports Information