BEXLEY -- The Heidelberg University Men's Basketball team rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit and upended host Capital University, 75-69. Led by a 19-point night from Tre Watkins, Heidelberg landed four players in double figures.  

With 12 points and 14 rebounds, Eric Panning's season-long string of double-doubles moved to 14 games.  

Carter Pleiman and Zane Leitwien both added 13 points. 

A dismal shooting performance in the first half put Heidelberg into a deep hole. The Comets led by as many as 16 in the opening half and held a 37-24 advantage at halftime.  

Buoyed by seven points from Watkins, Heidelberg began the second half on a 16-3 run. The five-minute stretch helped Heidelberg knot the game at 40.  

Over the final 15 minutes, neither team held more than a six-point advantage and the lead changed six times.

With his team down 66-62, Markell Johnson-Nichols hit a teardrop floater in the paint just before the shot clock expired. After a Capital miss at the other end, Panning tied the game with a baseline jumper.  

The biggest turning point in the game came with the game tied at 68 with 2:11 to play.     Capital's McKane Finkenbine drove the lane and appeared to lay in the go-ahead basket. Instead, he was whistled for an offensive foul, drawn by Pleiman. With the game still tied, Watkins buried a 3-pointer from the wing.  

Capital would add a free throw down the stretch but Watkins sealed the game with a reverse layup in the final minute.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
Panning's 14 double-doubles on the season are the most by a Student Prince since Myron Prewitt had 16 in 2018-19 … Heidelberg outrebounded Capital 42-35 … Watkins was 4-for-7 from the line, snapping a string of 24 straight to start the season. He connected on 37 in a row, dating back to last season -- three shy of tying the program record of 40 straight makes, set by Bill Dufur in 1989-90. 

UP NEXT:
Heidelberg will travel to No. 12 Mount Union on Saturday to take on the Purple Raiders. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.