Wittenberg Loses On Last-Second Three-Pointer to Cedarville
The Wittenberg University Tigers could hear the knocking all game, and the Cedarville Yellow Jackets eventually broke the door down. Wittenberg was stunned 67-66 when Josh Gast's 25-foot three-point heave touched nothing but net with just seven seconds left in the game and the Tigers couldn't get off a clean shot at the other end.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg University Tigers could hear the knocking all game, and the Cedarville Yellow Jackets eventually broke the door down. Wittenberg was stunned 67-66 when Josh Gast's 25-foot three-point heave touched nothing but net with just seven seconds left in the game and the Tigers couldn't get off a clean shot at the other end.
Wittenberg fell behind early in this one, allowing the visiting Yellow Jackets to run out to a surprising 14-2 lead. After the lead expanded to as much as 14 points, the Tigers rallied to close to within one point by halftime, 36-35. In the second half, Cedarville held off Wittenberg until the closing minutes, when freshman forward Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) hit two free throws with 2:03 remaining to give the Tigers their first lead of the game.
Just 18 seconds later, Cedarville responded with a three-pointer by Barry Chamberlin. Wittenberg's junior guard Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) came back with a jumper from the baseline with 1:23 remaining to re-claim the lead. After Chamberlin missed a triple attempt and the team's exchanged turnovers underneath Wittenberg's basket, Tiger sophomore guard Danny Brywczynski (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) hit one-of-two free throws to give Wittenberg a 66-64 cushion with 22 seconds left. That was when Gast stepped into the fray, draining a long three-pointer from right in front of his team's bench with just seven seconds left. Emmons then missed a jumper that could have won it at the buzzer.
Cedarville, which lost by more than 40 points to Wittenberg each of the last two years, improved to 6-3 on the season, while the Tigers dropped to 3-2. Wittenberg was paced offensively by Emmons with 16 points, Russ with 15 and senior forward B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) with 14. Russ and Harris took rebounding honors with eight each. The Tigers shot just 37 percent from the field, including 23 percent from three-point range, but they won the rebouning battle 42-36.
The Tigers, who have now lost two games at home after going 15-1 last year at the HPER Center, will try to rebound on Saturday as they open conference play against Allegheny at 3 p.m. Wittenberg is now 3-2 overall.