Jonathan French
Assistant Director of Communications and Media 
jfrench@transy.edu

CHICAGO, IL - The Transylvania Pioneers win their season opener and first game of the 2024 UChicago Midway Classic. The Pioneers faced off against Ohio Wesleyan University and won 82-74. 

Transy began the opening half with a 5-0 run, sparked by a Colby Napier three. The following minutes, both teams were back and forth up and down the court exchanging points. Ohio Wesleyan brought Transy's lead down to three with 10 minutes left. Transylvania's largest lead of the half was 7. The Pioneers went into the break up 38-34 after a jumper by Logan Tharp in the final seconds. 

After OWU, brought the lead to one after a quick three pointer to open the second half; Colby Napier responded with a Pioneer three. Ohio Wesleyan took the lead 43-41 three minutes later. The following minutes featured six lead changes, with both teams fighting for the lead. With six minutes left in the game, the Pioneers found themselves down 7 points. Transylvania showed true grit and purpose and started to go on an offensive run. With 4 minutes to go, Dakota Capps and Napier brought the Pioneers back to 64-64. Transylvania ended the game holding Ohio Wesleyan to 5 points in the final six and a half minutes for a 82-74 victory to open the season. 

"I loved how we jumped out to an early lead in the first half of our first game," said Head Coach Brian Lane. "Ohio Wesleyan made some good adjustments and it turned into a great game. Holding a really strong offensive team to five points in the last six and a half minutes was the key. We got great effort off of the bench with Ben Godby coming in and grabbing five offensive rebounds and Logan Tharp with 11 points in only six minutes of play. It was also great to see Jaxon Smith able to play 36 minutes as hard as he did. Dakota came off the bench and gave us a huge lift. We were able to pick up the pace. We need him to find the open man in transition and he did that with five assists. I felt like our conditioning helped in the crucial 20-5 run to end the game."

Up next for Transylvania is a match up with the University of Chicago on Sunday, November 17th on day two of the Midway Classic.

Stat Leaders: 
- Colby Napier led the Pioneers with 26 points and made 50% of his three point attempts. He ended the game with 5 assists and two rebounds. 
- Hunter Penn was a huge presence inside the paint finishing with 14 points and led the team in rebounds with 6. 
- Logan Tharp and Ben Godby came off the bench and provided huge minutes. Tharp ended with 11 points and Godby finished with 8 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. 

Transylvania University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the HCAC. To keep up to date with all of Transylvania Athletics, check out our website at www.transysports.com and follow @TransySports on Instagram.