Staff writer

jmontecalvo@observer-reporter.com

For most basketball teams that attempt as many three-point field goals as Heidelberg College does, the outcome of most games is predicated on their shooting percentage from beyond the arc.

In Heidelberg's 10 games preceding Thursday night's non-conference contest against Washington & Jefferson, the Student Princes fired up 234 three-pointers.

They took another 28 against the Presidents, making 11. While four long-range shots helped Heidelberg put together a 14-2 run midway through the second half after W&J closed to within 44-41, it wasn't the only factor that contributed to a 67-55 victory at Henry Memorial Center.

The inside presence of 6-6 center Brian Schmidt, especially early in the game, drew the W&J defenders to the low block and created open shots around the perimeter.

Over the final 20 minutes, the Student Princes (9-2) made seven of 15 three-pointers. Andrew Lemmon drained four of them, the third of which gave Heidelberg a 61-47 lead with a little less than six minutes to play and helped the Student Princes pull away for the win.

"Depending on how we are defended, we'll shoot somewhere between 16 and 30 threes," Heidelberg coach Duane Sheldon said. "The good thing is we have an offense that can take what the defense is giving us. They were really doubling down on Schmidt and that gave us some opportunities.

"(Schmidt) is a good player down low. We're pretty balanced offensively so we use the football analogy. We wait and see how they'll defend us and we take what they give us."

Schmidt scored six of his 12 points in the first half and grabbed several key rebounds when the Student Princes jumped to an 11-0 lead over the game's initial five minutes. Lemmon scored six of his game-high 20 points during the run.

"We can't continue to give good teams that kind of an advantage," W&J coach Glenn Gutierrez said. "We end up fighting uphill all night and it's not a good situation, especially when you're playing a quality opponent."

The Presidents (3-7) were outrebounded during the early minutes of the game and struggled to get more than one shot on many of their offensive possessions. It helped Heidelberg, which is a member of the Ohio Athletic Conference, build a 36-27 lead by halftime.

"You can't stand around and wait to get punched in the mouth until you fight back," Gutierrez said. "We came out right away and gave up an open look."

And Chad Szalay, who scored 15 points, sunk a three-pointer 30 seconds in that started the spurt.

The Presidents, though, made the score 38-34 early in the second half on a jumper from Wahab Owolabi, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Heidelberg's lead grew to 10 points again before W&J closed to within three on baskets by Owolabi and Josip Lucic-Jozak, who scored 12 points and had nine rebounds. Heidelberg, however, made five three-pointers over the next five minutes.

"We play in a conference where every game is (close)," Sheldon said. "Our kids stayed poised and started to make some shots in the second half. W&J played hard and made us earn the victory."

The long-range shots by the Student Princes put the game out of reach and left Gutierrez searching for answers.

"We were supposed to go toes to the arc and force them to shoot from 23 or 24 feet. We got caught inside and they were shooting from 19 or 20 feet," Gutierrez said. "I asked the team in the locker room what they learned because if we are going through these trials and tribulations, we have to learn from them. One answer was that we need to be the aggressor and that is a good point."

Notes

W&J has lost six straight games. ... The Presidents were without guards Noah Hayden and Matt Drakeley, who are both injured. ... W&J committed 16 turnovers. Heidelberg had 12.

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