Wittenberg Upends Defending National Champion Otterbein

WESTERVILLE, Ohio - The Wittenberg University Tigers may be pulling things together after some early struggles. On a cold, snowy Wednesday night at Otterbein College, the Tigers upended the defending national champion Cardinals 79-71, led by their two senior captains.

Senior B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) 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 a blistering 4-of-4 from three-point range, and senior Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler), who continues to work his way back from several injuries and added a season-high 14 points.

The Tigers took the lead at the 13 minute mark of the first half on a three-pointer by Bucheit and never trailed again, opening up a 13-point margin just before halftime and never allowing the Cardinals to re-gain the lead in the second 20 minutes despite a strong Otterbein charge that tied the game briefly at 53 with 12:30 left in the game. A key to the game was that Wittenberg controlled the boards, outrebounding the Cardinals, who had won the last three games against the Tigers, 44-32.

Wittenberg improved to 5-2 overall with the victory and now takes 12 days off for final exams and some pre-holiday practice. 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, and then again on Monday, Dec. 30 at Case Western Reserve University. The next home date for the Tigers is Saturday, Jan. 4 against Oberlin as NCAC action begins anew.