Borland's Clutch Three-Pointer Keeps Tigers Atop NCAC

DELAWARE, Ohio - In the last two years, the Wittenberg Tigers and Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops have gone toe-to-toe five times, and on every occasion the game has gone down to the wire. Fortunately for the Tigers, four of those five games have fallen into their win column, including this barn-burner, a 67-64 Wittenberg win on the Bishops' home floor.

Wittenberg player superlative basketball to open both halves, jumping out to a 16-9 lead in the first half and then using a substantial run to open the second half to race out to a 12-point lead. But in each case, the Bishops came storming back to re-claim the lead.

In the first half, Ohio Wesleyan used a lengthy run to close the half and take a 33-29 lead into the locker room, a margin that was lessened by a huge three-pointer by sophomore guard Rod Emmons just before the buzzer. In the second half, Wittenberg stormed out to a double-digit lead before OWU rallied back and knotted the game at 64 with about two minutes remaining. That set the stage for the game-winning three-pointer by sophomore guard Mark Borland, who knocked the shot down with time running out on the shot clock inside the final minute.

Borland finished the game with 17 points, his best offensive effort of the season. He was joined in double figures by senior guard Greg Rustad with 14 points. Junior center B.J. Harris had an off-night offensively with four points, eight below his team-leading average, but he grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

The win improved Wittenberg to 19-3 overall and 12-1 in the NCAC. Next up for the Tigers is a pair of home games against Hiram on Saturday and against Earlham next Wednesday. Both games are slated for 7:30 p.m. starts at Wittenberg's HPER Center. All games can be heard on WBLY 1600 AM in Springfield or via the Internet on Wittenberg's Web site.