Dalton Christopher
Assistant Athletic Director - Communications & Media
dchristopher@transy.edu 

LEXINGTON, KY – Transylvania University earned a 73-71 Senior Day victory against Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) opponent Mount St. Joseph (MSJ) at the Clive M. Beck Center on Saturday. The Pioneers celebrated their senior class of 2025 prior to tip-off, recognizing the careers and accomplishments of Colby Napier, Zach Stahlman, Hunter Penn and Assistant Will Arnett.

Colby Napier scored for the Pioneers in the opening seconds of the game with a cut to the basket. At the 17:04 mark, Zach Stahlman connected on a three-pointer to give Transylvania a 6-0 start. Dakota Capps scored on a jump shot at the 14:21 mark after a quick MSJ run had trimmed into the Pioneer lead.  Later in the first, Hunter Penn scored from three-point range as the shot clock expired. Stahlman scored his second three-pointer of the afternoon moments later as the Pioneers took a 19-16 lead.

Entering the second half with a 39-36 lead, Transylvania started the offense with another three-pointer from Penn. Stahlman's lay-up would give the Pioneers a 59-56 lead after the two teams exchanged brief runs throughout the first ten minutes of the half. With 7:20 remaining, MSJ took a 64-59 lead after a field goal from MSJ's Michael Loftis. Capps would make both free-throws before scoring on another drive to the basket to pull the Pioneers to within one. With less than five minutes remaining, Ian Reesor scored at the rim to take the lead for Transylvania, 65-64.

Capps earned another trip to the line, scoring on both shots with four minutes remaining. MSJ turned the ball over on the next possession, leading to Reesor finding a cutting Napier at the basket. Reesor drove to the basket on the next Transylvania possession, scoring through a tightly contested MSJ defensive effort. With two minutes remaining, MSJ's Elisha Jones scored a three-pointer to tie the Pioneers at 71-71.

With less than a minute remaining, Napier came away with an offensive rebound, leading to a drive to the basket from Reesor, but Reesor picked up the offensive foul in the process. After a strong defensive effort, Reesor came away with the defensive rebound from a shot attempt by MSJ's Loftis with seven seconds remaining. Capps drove the ball down the court and to the basket, picking up the foul and earning an opportunity for two free-throws with 01.7 remaining, scoring them both to give the Pioneers a two point lead, ultimately giving Transylvania the 73-71 victory.

Key Stats
 
- Transylvania outscored MSJ in points off turnovers, points in the paint and fast break opportunities.
- Three Pioneers scored in double figures - Dakota Capps (19 points, six rebounds), Hunter Penn (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Zach Stahlman (17 points, four rebounds)
 
"We knew coming into today they would do a good job defending Napier, so we came into today trying to do some different things," said Head Coach Brian Lane. "We needed guys to do different things when they weren't scoring, and we did that tonight. Stahlman had one of his best games of the season today. The defense also allowed Penn to get different looks. We had a season low in turnovers, and that was probably our key figure. I told our seniors as they came out to be introduced, we are not done yet, we have a lot of stuff left."
 
Up Next
 
Transylvania closes the regular season on Wednesday, February 19^th at Hanover College at 7:30 p.m.

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.