COLUMBUS - With the undefeated and nationally ranked Hillsdale Chargers in town for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday (Dec. 10), the Ohio Dominican Panthers men's basketball team were ready for a battle. 

The Panthers nearly erased a 21-point second half deficit as they fell 80-74 to the #7 ranked Chargers at Alumni Hall. 

BOX SCORE NOTES

• Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) had 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as Szul paced the Panthers offensive attack for the fifth straight game. Szul made nine-of-13 field goals and knocked down all eight free throw attempts, including a perfect seven-for-seven in the second half. He added three rebounds and four assists. 
• Kayin Derden (Columbus, Ohio) broke his career-high with 17 points, including 15 points beyond the arc. Derden made all five threes on the afternoon, becoming the first Panther since March 3, 2020 to shoot 100% from deep (min. three attempts) as Michael Simon was 3-3. He scored 11 points in the second period with a trio of threes. 
• Keshawn Heard (Newark, Ohio) returned from an injury and added 13 points off the bench - a Panther best for him. Heard had five field goals, one three pointer and a pair of free throws to go with seven rebounds and one assist. 
• Nate Webb (Lafayette, Indiana) gave the Panthers five points and six rebounds in 33 minutes. 
• The Panthers shot 45% from the floor, a 27-for-60 clip, but shot 48.5% in the second half on 16-of-33 shooting. Hillsdale won the shooting category with 54.5% (30-55) overall shooting. 
• ODU made ten three pointers for the third time this season, outshooting the Chargers from behind the three-point line (eight).
• Ohio Dominican outrebounded the Chargers 30-28 with a 9-4 win in the offensive rebounds category. 
• The turnover category was a win for the Panthers, as they limited the turnovers to eight - a season best. 
• Another season-high for the Panthers was their 83.3% mark at the charity stripe, converting ten of 12 free throws. 
• Hillsdale was held without a basket in the final 4:09 of the game, scoring only five points on free throws. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Hillsdale opened a ten-point lead twice in the first five and a half minutes of the game (14-4 and 16-6). 
• ODU went on a 11-1 run over the next two minutes with three triples and five points from Webb. The Panthers tied the game at 17 with 12:22 left in the first half. 
• Over the final 12:22 of the first half, Hillsdale ended with a 28-10 run to lead 45-27 at halftime. 
• The Chargers pushed the lead to 21, 58-37 at the 13:44 mark - the largest lead of the afternoon. 
• Ohio Dominican followed with a 17-4 run to close the gap to 62-54 with 8:34 to go, including a 9-0 run as well. 
  • Derden made two threes while Heard scored four points. Sean Marks (Delaware, Ohio) made a three pointer to cut the gap to eight. 
• Eight was the closest ODU got until the final minute. Hillsdale led 77-65 with 1:58 to go in the game. 
• The Panthers closed the gap to four points as they ended the game on a 9-3 run with eight straight points before Hillsdale closed out the game with a pair of free throws.
  • ODU cut the lead to 78-74 on a pair of free throws by Szul as he tallied seven points in the final minute. 

UP NEXT

• Ohio Dominican will head on the road to Cedarville on Thursday (Dec. 15) for a G-MAC matchup with the Yellow Jackets. 

Contact: Tyler Stotsky
stotskyt@ohiodominican.edu