Quick Synopsis 
What's not to love?  The Heidelberg University men's basketball team opened up play on Valentine's Day Weekend with an 89-83 overtime upset of No. 2 Mount Union.  The Berg's win in Alliance snapped a string of 24 straight wins by Mount Union.  

Heidelberg, which received votes in the latest D3hoops.com Top 15 poll, improved to 6-0 in the OAC and grabbed sole possession of first place.  

Three Standouts 
1. Dylan Woods led all scorers on the night with 38 points and eight assists, both career highs.  Woods was 15-22 from the floor and buried 4-8 from beyond the arc.  In the overtime period, he had five points and three assists.  

2. Seth Hohman notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.  Like Woods, he scored five points in overtime.  

3. Emmanuel Perdue enjoyed another active evening, tallying 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals  

Full Recap
The early back and forth scoring was broken by Mount Union with a 13-2 run aided by poor shooting from Heidelberg.  The burst gave the Purple Raiders an 18-8 lead eight minutes into the matchup.

Heidelberg got to within six on two occasions over the next several minutes, but a 7-0 run for Mount Union gave the team its biggest lead of the half at 31-18 with 4:12 remaining. 

Ignited by a 3-pointer from Woods, the Student Princes responded with a 12-3 run to close the half.  HU trailed by six at halftime, 36-30.  

Woods, who had 13 points at intermission, went on a tear early in the second half.  He scored all seven points of a 7-0 Heidelberg run that brought HU to within one at 45-44 with 14:35 to play. 
Undeterred, the Purple Raiders went on a 6-0 run, usurping momentum en route to a 51-44 lead. 

Down six midway through the second, a 7-2 run gave the Student Princes their first lead of the contest -- 58-57 with 5:30 remaining on the clock.  The run included five points from the line by Heidelberg, bolstered by an and-one from Hohman. 

Over the final five minutes of regulation, the lead would change hands six times..  

Down two with 2:09 to play, Woods drilled a 3-pointer on a kick-out feed from Hohman, putting HU up 65-64.  After a pull-up jumper by Mount Union missed, a driving right-handed layup by Woods pushed the HU lead out to three with 1:11 remaining in the game and forced a timeout from the home squad. 

Out of the timeout, Collen Gurley stepped into a 3-pointer from the right side -- tying the game at 67 with 55 seconds left.  

Alex Arellano, who struggled from the floor throughout the game, picked the right time to make his first field goal.  The senior knocked down a triple of his own, which gave his squad a  70-67 advantage with 36 seconds left.  

On the ensuing possession, Braedon Pool was fouled on an offensive board and made both free throws with 14.7 seconds left. 

Fouled on the inbound pass, Woods split a pair from the line and put the Student Princes up by two with 13.8 seconds remaining.  

Mount Union tied up the game with six seconds remaining on another layup by Gurley, who finished with 20 points. After a timeout with .4 seconds, Perdue hit a jumper after the horn sounded and the teams headed to overtime tied at 71.

Heidelberg controlled the overtime period from the start with an 11-2 run through the opening three minutes of overtime competition.  The run was highlighted by a 3-pointer from the right corner by Woods and a three-point play by Hohman.  Hohman, who drove the baseline, hit his free throw to put HU ahead 80-73.  

Down by as many as nine in overtime, Mount Union attempted to foul and bring the score back in their favor but the Student Princes stayed calm from the free throw line, shooting 9-11 from the line, to take the win 89-83. 

In addition to Hohman and Woods each scoring five points in overtime, Nahki Taylor scored five of his 11 points in the overtime period. Taylor also grabbed seven rebounds, two of which were in overtime.

Three Takeaways 

• Neither team shot well from distance, with Heidelberg making 6-21 3-pointers and Mount Union scoring on 7-29.

 

• HU's starters took on most of the scoring for the evening with just seven points coming from the Student Princes' bench. 

 

• The two teams finished tied in rebounds at 41, but Mount Union tallied nine more second chance points (19-10).

That's What He Said
Head coach Andy Bucheit on the victory…  "The guys have answered each challenge that has come up all year, and today was no different. We struggled on offense in the first half, and at halftime, we talked about a couple changes and they executed to perfection. They did the same coming into OT. We are so proud of them for responding to adversity and staying the course."

Beyond the Box Score

• Prior to Friday's loss, Mount Union's last loss came at the hands of Heidelberg -- a 68-67 triumph for the Student Princes on Jan. 4, 2020, in Tiffin.  The Purple Raiders steamrolled their way through the rest of the regular season and OAC Tournament before their magical run was halted in the Sweet 16 by COVID-19.  

 

• The last victory for Heidelberg over a ranked team was an 85-68 win over then-No. 16 Marietta on Feb. 22, 2020, led by a balanced attack from the Student Princes with five players scoring double figure points. 

 

• The last 30-point performance from a Student Prince was from Perdue on Jan. 8, 2020 when he scored 30 points against Ohio Northern.

 

• The incredible night from Woods was reminiscent of Myron Prewitt's 44-point day at Mount Union on Dec. 15, 2018.  That game, however, ended in an 87-85 loss for the Student Princes.

Up Next 
Heidelberg will need another strong showing tomorrow night as the Purple Raiders come to Tiffin for a rematch at 6 p.m.

Photos by Emily Swisher of Mount Union sports information.