Wittenberg Holds Off Determined Denison Challenge to Advance in NCAC Tournament
Beating an opponent three times in a season is never easy. That was the task that stood before the Wittenberg Tigers and, for the second time in four nights, the Tigers were up to the task as they dispatched the visiting Denison Big Red 80-74 in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Beating an opponent three times in a season is never easy. That was the task that stood before the Wittenberg Tigers and, for the second time in four nights, the Tigers were up to the task as they dispatched the visiting Denison Big Red 80-74 in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals.
The difference was, however, that this one was very difficult throughout. Wittenberg had won the previous two meetings 70-48 and 75-51, but the seventh-seeded Big Red gave the second-seeded and defending NCAC tournament champion Tigers all they could handle in the third meeting, forcing eight lead changes, including one as late as the 10:15 mark of the second half on a three-pointer by Matt Warner that made the score 57-56.
After that, however, Wittenberg responded immediately with a conventional three-point play by senior forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler). While Denison tied the game twice more in the next four minutes, the Tigers slowly pulled away for the win. Longley scored eight points in the final six minutes of the game to finish with a season-high 20 tallies, while junior guard Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) added four free throws in the final 23 seconds to finally seal the deal.
The team statistics bear out just how close things really were. Denison shot 48 percent for the game, although that figure is skewed by several wild desperation shots down the stretch that went off the mark. Wittenberg shot 58 percent from the floor, but the Tigers absorbed an 0-for-6 night from beyond the three-point arc. The Big Red hit nine trifectas to almost overcome the deficit from the free throw line. Wittenberg hit 32-of-41 free throws in the game, compared to 9-of-13 for the Big Red. Three Denison players fouled out of the game.
Individually, Wittenberg got 20 points from Longley, 19 from freshman center Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) and 17 tallies from senior center B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins). Those three players combined to make 19-of-23 shots from the field as they completely dominated the paint.
Denison put two players in double figures. Forward Robb Hern had 15 points off the bench for the Big Red, which outrebounded Wittenberg 28-26, while senior center Alan Bradshaw capped his career in fine style with a team-high 16 points.
Wittenberg now advances to the NCAC semifinals, where they will take on No. 3 seed Allegheny, which had to survive a 92-90 overtime thriller at home against No. 6 Earlham. The Tigers improved to 20-5 with the win, giving the program a third straight 20-win season, while Denison fell to 9-17. The tourney semifinals and finals will be hosted by top-seeded College of Wooster on Friday and Saturday. Game times are 5:30 and 7:45 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday.