Tigers Pull Out Tough One Over Ohio Wesleyan
The Wittenberg Tigers fell behind by halftime, rallied for an 11-point lead late in the second half and then hung on for dear life as visiting Ohio Wesleyan made a late run to capture a 70-68 victory.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers fell behind by halftime, rallied for an 11-point lead late in the second half and then hung on for dear life as visiting Ohio Wesleyan made a late run to capture a 70-68 victory.
OWU, playing most of the game without top scorer and rebounder Travis Schwab, took a 34-29 lead into the locker room at halftime, thanks in part to six three-point goals, including two each by Shawn Kindred and Jason Dopoulos. But Wittenberg's sophomore guard Mark Borland scored the first four points of the second half and sparked the struggling Tiger offense to take the lead just two minutes into the final stanza.
Borland was the catalyst as Wittenberg raced out to a 66-53 lead with 2:39 remaining in the game. But then OWU put on an aggressive full-court press that produced several turnovers and closed the margin to just two with 30 seconds left. Tiger forward Kevin Longley saved the day, stealing the ball from OWU's Brandon Cole with three seconds left.
For the game, Borland paced the Tiger offense with 14 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals. He was joined in double figures by senior guard Greg Rustad with 11 and sophomore forward Peter Walker with 10. Junior forward/center B.J. Harris finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.
The win improved Wittenberg to 14-2 overall and 7-0 in the NCAC, while OWU dropped to 9-7 overall and 5-2 in the NCAC. Next up for the Tigers is a conference home game against Denison at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19. All games can be heard on WBLY 1600 AM in Springfield or via the Internet on Wittenberg's Web site.