Heidelberg puts No. 4 on the floor

More news about: Heidelberg | Virginia Wesleyan | Wilkes
Jan 21, 2026
Markell Johnson-Nichols is all smiles as Heidelberg hands Mount Union its first loss of the season.
Heidelberg athletics photo by Morgan Kocher
 

Heidelberg toppled Mount Union, Virginia Wesleyan knocked off Randolph-Macon in the final second, Redlands handed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps its first loss of the season in overtime, Scranton fell hard at its area rival, Bacon Night was sure tasty for Trine fans and Otterbein survived its first game as a ranked team in more than 21 years in Division III men's basketball action on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026.

Heidelberg handed Mount Union its first loss of the season, as the Student Princes took down the No. 4-ranked Purple Raiders 83-76, sparking the hometown faithful to storm the court. The Purple Raiders (16-1, 7-1 OAC) bounced back from a 17-point second half deficit and took a four-point lead with 4:42 left. Heidelberg closed the game on a 13-2 run, however, to come away with the win.

"In a short time, our guys have learned how they need to play together to win," Berg coach Mike Summey said, still dripping from a celebratory locker room dousing after the game. "I am so sincerely happy for each and every one of them. They earned this victory."

Brady Bosma led all scorers with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds. Markell Johnson-Nichols had 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Riley Gossom and Marcos Vazquez each had 15 points, with Vazquez adding eight assists. Heidelberg's last win against a top five team came on Dec. 3, 2022, when the Student Princes beat Mount Union, which was ranked No. 2 at the time.

No. 9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, which entered the night undefeated, and No. 11 Redlands, needed five extra minutes to decide their fate out west, and it ended with Redlands coming away with the 79-78 home win. The Bulldogs (15-2, 7-1 SCIAC) were just 4-for-16 from beyond the arc after halftime, and CMS (16-0, 7-0) attempted only four threes all night (making zero), but it almost didn't matter as the Stags had two foul shots to tie or win the game with 0.4 seconds left in overtime. But a long video review, and an attempt to update the game clock took almost just as long, icing foul shooter Joey Kennedy, who missed both shots, allowing the clock to run out on the one-point win. Kennedy had 21 points but was 3-for-7 from the charity stripe on the night.

Kennedy had hit on a spinning fallaway from the left baseline with 1:02 left to give the Stags a 78-76 lead with 1:02 remaiing. On the other end, Omari Ferguson was able to split two defenders and put up a leaner, drawing a fall with 0:34 left. He made one out of two to cut the lead to one, but got a key steal on the next possession, setting up Jhayce Boston, who scored with 0:18 left to give Redlands the lead. On the ensuing possession, Claremont had an inbounds from the sideline and got three clean, open looks at the basket, missing all three of them before Kenney was fouled with 0.4 left. But Kennedy was unable to convert and Redlands held on, with its fans storming the court at the end of the game. Ferguson finished with 18 to lead the Bulldogs.

Omari DeVeaux hit a pull-up three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining in the game, giving Virginia Wesleyan a 65-64 win at home against No. 5 Randolph-Macon. The Yellow Jackets took a 52-50 lead with a 6-0 run midway through the second half, but VWU countered to take a 56-54 lead with 5:53 left. Over the next five minutes in the game, RMC (14-2, 6-2 ODAC) strung together a good run of play and outscored VWU 8-3 to hold a 62-59 lead with 48 seconds left in the half. DeVeaux hit a clutch three-pointer to tie the game at 62-62 with 32 seconds left. The Marlins (10-5, 5-1) fouled the Yellow Jackets' Amr Arekikat, who made both free throws to give them a 64-62 lead with seven seconds left, setting up DeVeaux's heroics.

For a night, it was like the old MAC Freedom was back together, as Scranton took its newfound No. 21 ranking and headed up to Wilkes for some Marts Madness. And it was indeed maddening for Scranton fans, as the homestanding Colonels jumped out to leads of 11-3 and 28-12, led by 19 early in the second half and later by 32 in cruising to a 75-45 win against the Royals. Wilkes outrebounded Scranton 48-26 and held the Royals (14-2, 7-2 Landmark) to just 31% shooting from the floor en route to the big win. Lucas Lesko scored a game-high 26 points and Daniel Santaniello added 18 points as the Colonels improved to 10-6 overall, 5-4 in conference. It's the sixth consecutive win for the Colonels against Scranton. The Royals shot just 16-for-51 from the floor in the game topped by Sammy Tornabene's 12 points and six rebounds.

Otterbein's absence from the Top 25 has been even longer, more than 21 years, and the No. 24-ranked Cardinals did much better in their return to the poll, defeating Wilmington 84-74 on the road. With the win, the Cardinals win their tenth consecutive contest and wrap up the first half of OAC play with a 7-1 record, 15-2 overall. Julian Heckman's season-high 23 points led all players, as did his eight assists. A second half surge by the Quakers (7-10, 3-5) trimmed Otterbein's lead to single digits, as the hosts started the period on a 21-9 run, ultimately tying the game at 54. A few lead changes spanned through the second half until a Chase Garito bucket gave Otterbein the lead for good with 9:34 to play.

Wednesday night was the night that fans got free bacon when they came to Trine's home men's basketball game, and those fans did not just get crispy, tasty goodness -- they got a tasty game and an upset to boot, as the Thunder threw in 56 points in the second half to roll past No. 15 Calvin, 88-68. Jayden Bradshaw scored 13 of his 17 points from the free throw line as the senior drew 10 fouls on the night, giving him 19 fouls drawn over his last two outings. Logan McKenzie buried his first career three pointer on his way to 17 points. Nate Tucker and Cade Brenner finished with 15 points. McKenzie and Brenner each posted a team high seven rebounds. Trine (12-4, 4-1 MIAA) shot 72% from the floor in the second half and forced a season-high 21 turnovers for the game from Calvin (12-4, 4-1). 

No. 8 Montclair State continued its unbeaten run to open the season, as Kabrien Goss scored a game-high and career-high 29 points to lead the Red Hawks past Rowan, 99-87. Rowan (4-13, 4-6 NJAC) got as close as nine late in the game before Montclair went on a run to close it out. The win, coupled with the losses by Mount Union and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and a win by No. 1 Trinity (Conn.) left Division III men's basketball with two unbeaten teams.

A steal and 3-pointer at the buzzer from freshman Kyle Cason gave Central a key road win at Coe. The Kohawks were taking the ball out of bounds on its own baseline with four seconds remaining in overtime when Cason tracked down an errant pass at midcourt. Cason took two dribbles and hit a one-footed, fading away 3-pointer to win the game in overtime. Cason led the Dutch with 24 points, 13 of those points coming in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime.