Round Up: Tigers Bounce Kenyon, Find Mid-Season Stride
The Wittenberg men's basketball team had its share of ups and downs through the early portion of the 2003-04 season, but the Tigers appear to have rounded into midseason form recently, ripping off five straight victories to improve to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Next up for the Tigers is a home date against Denison on Saturday.
The Wittenberg men's basketball team had its share of ups and downs through the early portion of the 2003-04 season, but the Tigers appear to have rounded into midseason form recently, ripping off five straight victories to improve to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Next up for the Tigers is a home date against Denison on Saturday.
The Tigers' three losses have been by a combined 14 points and all have come against quality competition. After winning the Kiwanis-Wittenberg Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 22, the Tigers dropped a 66-64 overtime decision to Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the first round of the Hanover John R. Collier Tournament. On Dec. 2, Wittenberg fell on the road at nationally ranked NAIA Division II foe Cedarville by a final of 70-68. And on Dec. 10, the Tigers were defeated at home by nationally ranked NCAA Division III rival Otterbein.
Of late, the wins have been piling up again, despite a rash of injuries. Five different players projected to play significant minutes this season have missed a combined 22 games, including leading scorer and rebounder Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity), who was sidelined by illness in Wednesday's 89-56 victory over Kenyon.
In that game, however, plenty of other individuals picked up the slack. Senior forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) scored 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the way and improve his season averages to 13.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, both career highs. Walker, in his second year as a starter, is second on the team with more than 25 minutes per contest and also second with 24 assists on the season.
Russ is having a breakout season in the post, leading the team and ranking in the top seven in the NCAC in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. He tops the team with 15.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per outing, and he has 23 of Wittenberg's 25 blocks on the season.
Several other players have played key roles in the Tigers' early season successes, none more than sophomore Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading), who has emerged as an offensive weapon since getting his first start of the season at Urbana on Dec. 13. In that game, Brady nearly became the first player in school history to record a triple-double as he poured in 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as the Tigers defeated the NAIA Division II Blue Knights 80-59. In his five starts, Brady has averaged 11.7 points, 4.4 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game to up his season numbers to 8.4 points, 2.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds per outing on the season as a whole.
The Tigers are 3-0 in the NCAC with a tough stretch of gamed awaiting them. After the home game against Denison, Wittenberg travels to Wabash on Jan. 14 and then hosts Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan on Jan. 17 and 21. Wabash, Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan are all tied for the NCAC lead currently with Wittenberg.