COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican men's basketball team received 20 points from Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) and earned a 65-62 home win over Trevecca Nazarene Friday evening.

Szul made 9-of-17 field goal attempts and scored 13 of his season-high point total in the second half. The guard also pitched in three rebounds and three assists.

Alek West (Sylvania, Ohio) recorded 12 points and a team-best six assists. Leading ODU with five rebounds was Mitch Wilkinson (Grand Rapids, Mich.), who also tallied nine points. Off the bench, Nate Webb (Lafayette, Ind.) produced seven points.

The Panthers jumped out to an early seven-point advantage, 9-2, after a driving layup from Kayin Derden (Columbus, Ohio) just over five minutes in. Ohio Dominican led for nearly 13 minutes of play in the first half, but needed a 7-0 run to close the half to capture a 30-23 lead at the intermission.

Despite shooting under 40 percent in the first half, ODU held TNU without a point for the final 3:56 to enjoy the halftime advantage. The Panthers (6-15, 4-10 G-MAC) forced the Trojans (5-16, 2-12 G-MAC) into 8-of-23 shooting in the first half, a .348 clip.

Trevecca scored the first 10 points of the second half to earn a 33-30 lead with just over 15 minutes left. Mike Knoll (Medina, Ohio) responded with a triple on the next possession though, and ODU never trailed for the remainder of the game. The Knoll three-pointer sparked a 21-4 run for the Black & Gold, including an 8-0 mini spurt to give them a 51-37 lead with 6:37 remaining.

The Trojans though, would not go away, closing their deficit to two points, 62-60, with 18 seconds showing on the game clock. Ohio Dominican answered by going five-for-six at the charity stripe in the final 38 seconds to preserve the regular season sweep over TNU.

Both sides increased their over shooting percentages in the second half, leaving TNU with a .490 to .424 advantage for the game. The Panthers though, made eight triples to the Trojans' three, while outscoring TNU 22-7 in bench points.

Ohio Dominican will be back in action right away, as the Panthers are scheduled to host Ky. Wesleyan at 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 5.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu