TIFFIN, Ohio -- A late bucket lifted Heidelberg to an 88-87 victory over the Trine men's basketball team in non-conference action Wednesday night.
Alex Arellano's layup with one-second left gave the Student Princes their only lead of the second half and capped off a comeback victory. Heidelberg trailed by as much as 14 and outscored the Thunder 7-1 over the final 1:17. Kiere Bennie led the Student Princes with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Trine was led by Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind. / Zionsville), who scored 21 points on a 9-of-18 shooting effort. The performance marked the fourth time the senior has scored 20 or more points in a game while shooting better than 50 percent this year.
Trine set a program record by knocking down 12-of-18 attempts from three-point range, good for a 67 percent effort. The three-point shooting percentage is the best on record in team history (minimum 10 made). The previous team-best mark was 58.8 percent (10-of-17).
Kyle Dodson (Centerville, Ohio / Centerville) paced the effort from long range, knocking down 4-of-5 treys on his way to a career-high 20 points. Dodson was 5-of-9 from the field overall. Dixon, Adison Daub (Corunna, Ind. / DeKalb), Adam Ciszewski (Sacramento, Calif. / Bella Vista) and Langston Johnson (Elkhart, Ind. / Elkhart Central) each added two threes for the Thunder. Trine shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field overall.
Myron Prewitt scored 12 points, while Chris Moxley added 11 and seven assists for the Student Princes. Mike Mason came off the bench to score 10 points, while Arellano chipped in 10 as Heidelberg's bench unit produced 37 points. The Student Princes also held a 44-22 scoring edge in the paint. Heidelberg shot 58 percent (34-of-59) and hit 9-of-18 (50 percent) from three-point range.
Trine held the lead for more than 37 minutes of the action. A Dixon three at the 17:52 mark of the first half gave the Thunder a lead the team would hold until the closing minutes of the game. Trine's lead grew as high as nine in the first half. Dodson helped pace a 43-38 halftime lead with 12 points.
A 9-0 run to start the second half gave the Thunder its biggest lead at 52-38 with 17:13 to play. The run included threes by Daub and Ciszewski. Trine's lead didn't shrink below eight until a Prince Benson layup cut the score to 79-72 with 6:13 to play.
The Student Princes outscored the Thunder 20-8 over the final 6:39. An 11-0 run tied the score with 3:33 remaining. A Dodson three restored Trine's lead, but Heidelberg would chip away and tie things back up at 86-86 on a layup-and-one by Bennie with 15 seconds to play.
Trine knocked down a free throw at the other end with 10 seconds on the clock, but Arellano answered with a second left to complete the comeback victory for the Student Princes. Heidelberg shot 68.8 percent (22-of-32) in the second half.
The Thunder will look to bounce back Tuesday, Dec. 6 when the team plays host to Great Lakes Christian. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.