PHILIPPI, W.Va. — Four members of the Ohio Dominican men's basketball team finished in double figures on Wednesday night, but it wasn't enough as the Black and Gold fell to Alderson Broaddus 90-79 during the midweek contest in Philippi, West Virginia.

Sophomore Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) started strong, scoring ODU's first nine points of the contest. Classmate Mitch Wilkinson (Grand Rapids, Michigan) added a three-pointer to give the Panthers a 12-8 lead in the early moments.

AB fought back to take the lead as Eman Eman scored eight of his 13 points to give the Battlers a 21-19 advantage midway through the first half.

The Black and Gold battled back to close the gap to just five points as Alek West (Sylvania, Ohio) converted a jumper with less than two minutes remaining to get the Panthers within striking distance. The Battlers held off the offensive charge from the Panthers to take a 47-38 lead into the locker room at halftime.

West also made the first basket of the second half to get the visitors off and running offensively. He added another three-pointer at the midway point of the second half to close the gap to four points.

Freshman Max Stepaniak (Ross, Ohio) added a three-pointer to keep the Black and Gold in the fight. The first-year player finished with a career high 18 points and five rebounds on the evening. West continued to battle back with baskets in the late moments, but it wasn't enough to overcome AB's Jalen Collins who finished the contest tied with a game-high 22 points as he pushed the Battlers to the 90-79 victory.

UP NEXT

ODU continues its brief road trip on Thursday night, traveling to Salem International University for the second contest in as many days. Tip-off against the Tigers is scheduled for 6 PM.

Contact: Ralph Schudel
schudelr@ohiodominican.edu