Wittenberg Runs Away From OWU in Key NCAC Match-Up

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Considering how the game started for the Wittenberg men's basketball team, the way it ended is that much more impressive. Held scoreless for the first five minutes of the game and trailing 18-10 at the 10:36 mark of the first half, the Tigers outscored visiting Ohio Wesleyan, 60-31, the rest of the way to stomp the Battling Bishops, 70-49, in a battle for first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Wittenberg, riding a nine-game win streak, improved to 13-3 overall and 7-0 in the NCAC, good for first place by one game over Wooster and two games over OWU. The Bishops, winners of eight of their previous nine games, dropped to 11-5 overall and 5-2 in the conference. It was Wittenberg's 99th victory in the series with Ohio Wesleyan, which stretches back to a 38-17 Bishops victory in 1912. The overall series stands at 99-41 in favor of the Tigers, and it was the eighth straight win for Wittenberg overall and the 47th in the last 48 meetings, dating back to 1978. Ohio Wesleyan has not won a game in Springfield since 1962, a 38-31 victory.

In this game, the Bishops came out strong, building leads of 7-0, 15-7 and 18-10 over the course of the game's first 10 minutes before the Tigers rallied. A three-pointer by junior Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle), a lay-up by freshman Jack Hemenway (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) and another triple by Bucheit evened the score at 18-18 with 8:53 remaining. The two teams battled back and forth the rest of the half until Bucheit drained his third three-pointer of the first half with 1:50 remaining to give the Tigers a 30-27 lead. He was fouled on the play and hit that shot as well, providing what turned out to be the halftime margin, 31-27.

The second half was all Wittenberg. Leading 37-34 at the 16:20 mark, Wittenberg ripped off the next seven points to build a 10-point lead. Then leading 52-44 at the 10:17 mark, the Tigers ended the game with a 18-5 burst.

There were several keys to the game, starting with tremendous three-point shooting for the Tigers. They shot a sizzling 64.7 percent from beyond the arc, a season-best, led by Bucheit, who had a career night with a school record 5-of-5 from three-point range and 7-of-7 from the field overall. Add in 1-of-1 from the free throw line and Bucheit had a 20-point night, just four points shy of his career high set last year against Case Western Reserve. While Bucheit was doing the majority of his damage from the outside, sophomore Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading) was opening things up inside with 19 points, 13 in the second half, eight rebounds and three assists. The Tigers are now 9-0 with Brady in the starting lineup.

Another key to the game was turnovers, as in just eight for the Tigers, their second straight game in single digits in that category. Junior point guard Danny Brywczynski (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) was the catalyst once again, draining a pair of key three-pointers and finishing with just one turnover against steady OWU defensive pressure.

Ohio Wesleyan was led by senior center Travis Schwab, the odds-on favorite for NCAC Player of the Year and the conference's leading second-leading scorer and rebounder. He finished with 15 points and five rebounds, both well below his season averages. Tyler Reed added nine points, all on three-pointers as the Bishops shot just 35.4 percent from the field.