NASHVILLE -- Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) and Alek West (Sylvania, Ohio) combined for 37 points to power the Ohio Dominican men's basketball team to a 56-51 road win at Trevecca Nazarene Monday evening. 

Szul led ODU in scoring for the second consecutive outing, tallying 19 points and seven rebounds. West filled the box score with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals. The duo scored or assisted on 48 of ODU's 56 points Monday evening. 

The Panthers (4-9, 2-4 G-MAC) jumped out to a fast start, scoring eight of the game's first 10 points. Szul and West had seven points each as ODU led 19-17 nine minutes into play.

Ohio Dominican relied on its defense down the stretch in the first half, holding TNU without a field goal for over six minutes and without a point for over five minutes of play. Trevecca (4-10, 1-6 G-MAC) made just two-of-seven field goal attempts with six turnovers over the final 8:49 of the first half. 

Despite the TNU scoring drought, it took a triple from Szul in the closing seconds for the Panthers to take a 32-29 advantage into halftime. There were five ties and three lead changes in the first half. 

With Trevecca still within striking distance, Mike Knoll (Medina, Ohio) hit back-to-back triples to extend the ODU advantage to seven points, 44-37, with 12:42 remaining. West then gave ODU its largest lead, nine points, 52-43, after a pair of free throws with 5:10 to play. 

The Trojans rallied down the stretch, using an 8-0 scoring run to close their deficit to one points, 52-51 in the final minute. With possession and the shot clock expiring, West tossed a lob pass to Szul on the right block for a layup to put the Panthers in front 54-51 with 27 seconds showing on the game clock. 

After getting a defensive stop, West added two free throws to secure the 56-51 victory, ODU's third win in its last four games. The Panthers were 8-for-10 at the charity stripe in the game, including a perfect five-for-five in the second half.

Ohio Dominican was scheduled to face Lake Erie at home on Thursday, Jan. 6, but with the Storm dealing with COVID protocols the game has been postponed. Visit the Ohio Dominican men's basketball schedule throughout the week for more information on upcoming games.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu