Roundup: Tigers Take Two More Wins Including Defending National Champions
The Wittenberg men's basketball team may be hitting its stride. In the last two weeks, the Tigers opened defense of their back-to-back North Coast Athletic Conference regular season championships with a hard-fought 70-66 victory over Allegheny and then defeated defending national champion Otterbein, 79-71.
The Wittenberg men's basketball team may be hitting its stride. In the last two weeks, the Tigers opened defense of their back-to-back North Coast Athletic Conference regular season championships with a hard-fought 70-66 victory over Allegheny and then defeated defending national champion Otterbein, 79-71.
On Dec. 7, the Tigers showed a lot of toughness in claiming the four-point win over Allegheny at the HPER Center. Wittenberg got out to a big lead early, but the Tigers made just 6-of-13 free throws in the second half and couldn't seem to put away the pesky Gators, who hit 6-of-9 three-point field goals in the final 20 minutes. The lead was 35-30 at halftime and Allegheny closed to within one point on three occasions but could never take the lead. The Tigers finally closed the game out with two free throws with just 0.4 seconds remaining by sophomore Kenny Molz (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont).
The Tigers were paced by a game-high 15 points from freshman center Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) and 14 points from sophomore guard Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) off the bench. Senior center B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) added seven points and seven rebounds, including a key basket in the lane in the final minute.
In the eight-point victory over Otterbein, the Tigers were led by their senior frontcourt duo of Harris and forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler). Harris had by far his best game of the season, hitting for 20 points and 14 rebounds. He was joined in double figures on the offensive end by sophomore Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle), who added 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including 4-of-4 from three-point range, and Longley, who continues to work his way back from injuries and added a season-high 14 points.
The Tigers took the lead at the 13-minute mark of the first half on a Bucheit three-pointer and never trailed again, opening up a 13-point margin just before halftime and never allowing the Cardinals to regain the lead in the second 20 minutes. Wittenberg controlled the boards, outrebounding the Cardinals, 44-32.
The Tigers return to the court on Monday, Dec. 23 at Ohio Northern, one of the Ohio Athletic Conference favorites and a 2001 national semifinalist.